by P. G. Van
Anjali put Inara down on the floor in front of her toys and looked up at Dheeraj. “I know you miss Janu, but we cannot rob Inara of her birthday.”
Dheeraj kissed Anjali on her cheek and ran his hand over her bulging belly. “I want our baby to be a girl.”
“We want a healthy baby just like Inara.” Anjali smiled at him and looked out of the window when she heard the noise from the open area next to the palace.
Anjali and Dheeraj had traveled to Devarakonda and were staying at one of the houses that was remodeled for them to stay when they visited. The last few months teams of engineers and construction workers worked tirelessly to get the palace converted to a hospital while retaining the exterior look of the building.
“I want you to stay here during the opening ceremony,” Dheeraj stated for the tenth time.
“How can I not attend the opening ceremony? Look at the name of the hospital,” she laughed.
“A lot of people are coming for the opening ceremony, and you know how the crowd is going to be. You can see everything from the window, right?”
“I’ll be fine as long as I am with you.” She hugged him.
“I want you to be safe and keep our babies safe.” He kissed the top of her head.
“I will be here if that’s what you want.” She smiled looking up at him.
“You know I want you with me every step of the way but not here.” Dheeraj was adamant.
“Surya assured that he would take care of the security for us.” Anjali smiled, happy that Surya had turned out to be a great partner to help with the hospital construction. He also returned the money she had transferred a year back.
“No more arguments, baby. You are staying here.”
Anjali smiled at him. “You make me so hot when you talk to me like that and for how happy you made me today, I have a surprise for you tonight.”
Dheeraj smiled pulling her to him. “It’s my job to give you surprises, now be a good girl and tell me what my surprise is.”
“I want to be the bad one in bed tonight and see what you do…” Her words were lost in a yelp when he sank his teeth into the soft skin on her neck giving her a visible mark.
“I can’t wait for you to be back,” she rasped as his lips descended on hers in a hungry kiss.
Dheeraj’s hand cupped her belly protectively as he delved into the warm depths of her mouth.
Epilogue
Four Years Later…
Anjali smiled looking at herself in the mirror. She was surrounded by her friends as they helped her get dressed for the wedding, her wedding with her Dheeraj. The wedding she had asked for years ago, a chaotic and traditional Indian wedding.
“Mommy, Daddy looks so handsome! He looks like a king with that thing on his head.” Inara walked into the dressing room of the banquet hall where the ceremony was to be held. Their friends and family thought Anjali and Dheeraj were celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary, but for Dheeraj and Anjali, this was the wedding they had dreamed of, the real wedding their children could witness.
“I love this idea of celebrating your anniversary, Anjali. Rohan and I are copying your idea. Don’t be mad,” Sonia said adjusting her hair making Anjali laugh.
“Me, too.” Lekha laughed helping Anjali drape her traditional silk saree.
“Mommy looks so pretty like a queen,” their second daughter, Maya, said to Inara.
“Is that why Daddy calls Mommy my queen?” Inara asked looking at Anjali.
“Oh, Daddy calls Mommy his queen? What does Mommy call Daddy?” Riya asked, looking at Anjali who was visibly blushing.
“She calls him ‘King of Hearts’ when she is happy and Mr. Varma when she is mad at him,” Inara said, showing the gap in her teeth.
Anjali’s friends started teasing her, and all she could do was smile and enjoy the heat that crept up her cheeks. Dheeraj had a way to set her entirety on fire just with a slight thought about him.
“And they are going on their second honeymoon,” Sonia teased.
“What’s a honeymoon?” Inara asked, and everyone laughed.
“Inara, baby… where is your brother?” Anjali tried hard to break the series of questions.
“Abhi is with Daddy. Seema aunty and Ravi uncle are watching him. What’s a honeymoon, Mommy?” Inara insisted making her friends laugh hysterically.
“I will tell you what a honeymoon is in a bit. Can you be a good big girl and go check on Daddy. He must be in his room all by himself,” Anjali urged.
“No, Richa aunty, Rohan uncle, and a bunch of Daddy’s friends are all drinking juice in his room.”
“I didn’t like the smell of that juice. I don’t want to drink that brown juice,” Maya whined.
“Richa aunty’s grape juice looked weird,” Inara said, nodding.
“I want to be at that party,” Lekha teased, winking at Anjali in the mirror.
“We probably should crash that party, don’t you think?” Anjali laughed.
“Later, after you get married to your husband again.”
“Anjali, the priest wants you,” Seema called out from the entrance.
“Showtime, Anjali! Your church wedding was beautiful, but this one is the best,” Sonia cheered.
“Seema, bring Abhi to me.” Anjali wanted all three of her children with her when she walked down the aisle to the wedding pavilion to be married to the love of her life.
“Are you sure you want to hold Abhi, you’ll ruin your saree,” Riya grumbled.
Abhi was almost two and an impatient child, but as if he had sensed the importance of the event, he had been pretty mellow all day.
“Yes, he is a good boy. Right, baby?” Anjali picked up her son and walked over the flower petals to the pavilion with her daughters right next to her, and her friends following her closely.
Anjali smiled at friends and family who were mostly Dheeraj’s family that had become hers over the years. She felt like the happiest woman on earth and thanked her stars for everything she had in her life, none of which she had never even thought about being real.
She held their little boy close to her as she ascended the center stage and kept her eyes on her daughters. She raised her eyes, and her eyes met with deep loving eyes of the man who gave her everything, and her lips curved up automatically. She walked to his side and smiled at him.
“You look ravishingly beautiful,” he whispered as he leaned forward to take their little boy into his hands.
“Thank you, you do look like a king, just like your daughter said.” She blushed.
“Did you bring your king any dowry, my queen?”
“I only brought myself.” She winked.
“I’ll take my dowry tonight, everything that’s mine,” he growled, kissing her cheek and getting a glare from the older priest who was there to conduct the ceremony.
Anjali sat next to her husband, her children as witnesses as she tightened the bond with the man she would do anything for as he took the vow to love and protect her and their children. She blinked away happy tears as she sent silent prayers to every god out there for their blessings on their special day.
Later that night, Anjali dialed Lekha’s number as soon as their plane landed.
“You guys landed in Bali already?” Lekha laughed.
“Just landed. How are the kids doing?” Anjali asked walking out of the private jet following Dheeraj.
“They are having so much fun. Abhi and Nirav are in the pool with my darling husband, and the girls just served Seema and me tea for the tenth time,” Lekha said.
“Lekha, I am so glad you are staying over with Seema and Ravi.”
“We are having so much fun. Tell Dheeraj I raided the wine cellar and found a bottle with cobwebs on it… I took the oldest bottle,” she teased.
“All yours… we should be back by Sunday evening,” Anjali said getting into the car right outside the plane.
“Have fun with your new husband, make more babies,” Lekha said and ended the call.
&nbs
p; Anjali laughed looking at the phone and looked at Dheeraj who was looking at her.
“You look happy,” he said taking the back of her hand to his lips.
“Lekha said we should make more babies.” She winked.
“That’s why Lekha and I get along so well. I agree with her, and it’s been a while since I saw you with a big belly.”
“I told you we are done, Mr. Varma. We are a big family already.”
“No, baby… two more babies will make us a big family.”
“We are perfect the way we are,” she said, leaning into him in the back seat of the limousine.
“If you say it’s perfect, we are perfect.”
Almost thirty minutes later, the limo pulled into the resort, and Anjali squealed with excitement. “This is the same resort we came to for our first honeymoon.”
“Yes, did you want a different one?”
“No, I love this resort.” Anjali almost flew out of the limousine as soon as it came to a stop.
“Would you be upset if I told you I booked the same villa we stayed at last time,” he whispered pulling her closer.
“I love you so much right now, I am willing to try what you suggested with the handcuffs,” she purred into his ear making him shudder.
“Baby, I can’t wait,” Dheeraj said and turned to take their bags from the bellboy and thanked him.
Anjali ran ahead of him and waited outside the entrance of the villa tapping her foot on the floor, a sexy smile on her lips. She chewed her lip knowing it would drive him nuts. She ran her finger on his jawline as he unlocked the door, distracting him.
“Simmer down, baby. Wait till I take you indoors,” he growled making her pool with need.
Dheeraj pushed opened the door, picked up the bags, and literally hauled them inside before pulling her to him, his lips coming down on hers, hungry and possessive.
“You are such a tease, and you are getting good at it by the second,” he mumbled sucking in her lower lip between his teeth.
“I want you now.” She pulled back to look at the villa, and it was at that moment she noticed how the villa was decorated with beautiful flowers and candles.
“It’s beautiful,” she said looking around.
“Not more than you,” he said pulling back to go down on his knees to present her with a small, green velvet box.
“Dheeraj, I don’t need another…” She lost her words when she saw the heart-shaped pendant with three diamonds on it when she was expecting to see a ring.
She gently ran her fingertip over the pendant. “This is beautiful.”
Dheeraj stood up, and she turned so he could drape the necklace with the pendant around her neck. He kissed her shoulder from behind. “I give you my heart and our three children.”
“It’s perfect.” She arched her back running her hand into his hair from behind.
Dheeraj nipped on her skin as he ran his lips along the column of her neck. “It’s perfect on you and a reminder of how you made everything beautiful for me.”
She laughed turning around in his arms. “I am no longer your pretend wife, we are married for real now.”
He laughed bending down to sweep her feet off the ground. “You are mine, pretend or real.”
“I’m glad we didn’t tell anyone about how we got started.” She giggled.
“Yeah?” he teased.
“I am, and I was actually surprised you didn’t tell either Richa or Rohan.”
“Let’s just say I went with my gut feeling on that decision not to tell anyone and look… it turned out to be a good choice.” He nuzzled her cheek.
Dheeraj carried her to the massive bed that was decorated with flower petals and dropped her on the mattress as he crushed her with his weight. She felt his desire for her against her belly and couldn’t wait to be conquered by the man she loved.
“Take me.” It was a plea.
“With pleasure, baby.” He sat back on his knees to pull her dress over her head and followed by taking off his t-shirt as she pulled open the tab on his jeans, lowered the zipper to caress the throbbing beast with her fingers.
He ran his hands over her body impatiently igniting every cell as he touched her, and when he entered her, her eyes rolled shut, and she swore she saw fireworks every time he pulled back and pounded into her. Her inner walls clenched as he built up a rhythm, and she buried her face into the pillow, her teeth sinking into the fabric of the pillowcase.
“Look at me when you come.” His demand made her eyes flutter open, and she moaned in response to the primitive hunger in his eyes.
“Will you be mine?”
“I am yours,” she almost yelled as her peak threatened to consume her.
“Be mine, forever!” he demanded and dove deep into her making her get lost in a whirlwind of emotions and sensations.
Anjali held on to him as he grunted and came on to her threatening to crush her with his weight, but there was no other place where she would rather be but in his arms. She still remembered the moment he said, ‘Pretend To Be Mine,’ and she would keep that promise, forever!
***** The End *****
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thank you for reading Pretend To Be Mine. I hope you enjoyed reading Anjali and Dheeraj’s love story. Thank you for being part of their beautiful journey.
I would like to ask you to rate/review this book on Amazon and Goodreads as it will help me know what you, my readers, would like to see in future stories.
Thank you,
P.G. Van
Email: [email protected]
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15061141.P_G_Van
BOOKS BY P.G. VAN
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Destiny Rules.. (Pure Destiny Series #3)
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