Zoya had been on a 14-hour flight from Karachi to London. To say it was difficult would be the understatement of the year, the year was just about to end, and one could never tell with Zoya. Aizad-the little charm boy held her hand during the takeoffs and landing. They both tried to appear stronger for each other.

Despite being super afraid of airplanes, she had to do that. She missed her Mark Darcy. Her nickname for him. Funny, but he really was Mark Darcy to her Bridget Jones. It had been two months since she had seen him. Yes, they video chatted but it wasn't enough. Some days she even watched him sleep after an exhausting day. But nothing could beat the feel of his heart against hers as she held him close. December made her miss him more. There is just something about December that makes you miss your soulmate. A month in which the single people miss their plus one's.

She didn't know why or how, Ammi came to know she was missing Irtaza really bad. Just one day , Ammi came to her with the tickets telling her that she should pack her bags and visit Irtaza . Meenu and Moiez needed some help and Ammi had to go to Islamabad.( It was a lame ploy. Zoya knew Ammi had done all that so she could visit Irtaza.) Zoya had jumped and hugged Ammi accepting that kind gift without thinking about the flight.

She had legit crossed oceans for him and was ready to cross some more. To her Bollywood freak self, it was ROMANTICCC !!!

Sath samadar par main tere pechay pechay agae!!!

(I crossed seven seas to following you? )

The weather had been bad and she had to bear some major turbulence, her luggage got loaded on the wrong aircraft and was to arrive in a week but nothing could dim her smile as she pulled the glass door and arrived in the lobby of the building he stayed in.

She had called his receptionist , taken all the details but still she wasn't prepared for the sight that welcomed her as she marched inside the lobby. Her gazed travelled all around the lobby until it settled on the elevator which was about to close. There he stood looking as handsome as she remembered.

Irtaza !!!!! Her heart thudded against her ribcage.

When Zoya spotted Irtaza, he was ruffled. His grey necktie loose around his neck, while his cotton shirt was creased reflecting the busy day he had at work. His brow creased when he spotted , his eyes unsure of whether it was really her. Putting a handout to hold the elevator door, he waited for her. He blinked twice as he shook his head, to shake her out of brain. Maybe exhaustion is playing tricks with me . He thought but still held the door open.

MY HEART!!

"I missed you", she screamed as she ran towards him not giving a damn about the attention she was going to get.

He had enough time to hold out his arms.

Does he think it is some kind of dilwale dulaniya lay lain gayeand he is some kind of Srk. He is my Srk, though.

She smiled and jumped into his arms. The momentum caused him to hit the back wall with a grunt as she wrapped her arms and legs around him. The doors slid close, allowing them some privacy as he held her close to his heart.

"What are you doing here, Zoya?" He whispered; still frazzled. His voice was hoarse with concern and disbelief. Emotions clogged his throat. Although he was loving every bit of the welcome he was getting, he was still concerned to see her there. At first, he thought she was not but a figment of his overactive imagination. A mirage, until she had run and jumped into his arms.

"I am here to see you." She whispered back as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"But how did you get here?" He asked breathless.

"I took a flight!"

"Zoya, meri jaan(my life) are you okay?" He asked the second, he heard flight. Of course, she had taken flight but it was only now that he came to the realization that she had hoped on the flight alone. When she was claustrophobic. He tried to get out of her grip so he could look at her face, hold it, but she refused to let go.

"I am better than okay. You can inspect later." She whispered, tightening her grip on him.

"And who did you spill your secrets too, this time?" He asked . Zoya could feel him smiling through the sentence.

"No one ? Does talking to a toddler counts as spilling secrets. Aizad was scared and we talked and held hands. This was his first time travelling by air. And well his mother was sitting behind us with the twins. So, I helped. Aizad, was so cute Irtaza."

"Hmmm"

He smelt like home. The scent of his cologne tingled in her nostrils as she pressed her face against his neck and breathed in, again and again.

"Zoya" He called her name. She could feel the amusement in his voice and could bet that his eyes would be sparkling with mischief.

"Hmm"

"You might want to get down. We have to pass through the lobby to the room."

"I don't want too. I can pretend to be asleep. And it would look like I am sleeping, and you are carrying me to your room! Plus, its London. It's okay to carry your girl to the room."

"Yes. Don't blame me later on though when people give you the looks. They don't know you are here, but they do know that I am married. They are going to assume I am two timing my wife."

Zoya really didn't have strength to let go off him. She had missed him so much. The feel of his heart beating under her's was stronger than her willpower. The elevator binged and before she could change her mind, she heard him whisper, "You are on."

He began walking down through the hallway with her clinging to him like a koala in the front. Breathing against his neck, Zoya smiled as he carried her to his room. All this time, she prayed that the alley was empty. She didn't want him to bump into any colleagues or people who might go " Wow , busy night !" Or something like that.

Peeking through her lashes, Zoya checked for the empty alley and the placed her cheek back into the crook of his neck. Reaching his room , he searched his wallet for the key card.

Closing the door with his foot, he carried her inside after pressing a button of the heating control.

"When did you land?" He asked as he walks into the kitchen. Pulling the kettle, he turned it on, as he began setting the mugs on the shelf.

"Around 6!" She replied as he bent in front of the refrigerator to get milk, making her grip tighter.

"Shartwy", he called her using a nickname he had come up.

"hmm" , she replied as she further buries her face in the crock of neck, hugging him harder. His collarbone fit nicely under her cheekbone.

"I need to pour some hot tea for us, why don't you sit here for a moment."

"I don't want tea. I missed you so much. I missed holdings hands with you. I missed the forehead kisses. I missed listening to your heartbeat. I didn't want to start the new year without you. I know, I know this ain't our new year. Please hold that lecture. This is the one we get to celebrate. Plus, I just love fireworks and the Christmas vibes and the lights in London. It was a dream come true. Ami is staying with Meenu and Moiez and well she told me that I could go. So here I am.... "

She said, her voice thick with emotions. She was rambling. The last whole week, she had been so depressed and sad. The tears were shimmering in her eyes.

"You hate crying in front of anyone."

"That doesn't stop you for making me cry! " She accused as he pulled her back into his arms.

"Shhh . You are here. I am here. Don't cry."

"I can cry. You aren't anyone. You are my husband! I missed you so much." She sobbed.

"Zoya !" He whispered wiping her tears.

"You know you still suck at reassuring people like you did on plane!" She said smiling between the tears.

" And you still are the gullible prettiest woman I known."

" Irtazaa" She vined.

"You still can't digest compliments, no matter how often I give them."

"You still are a jerk to me sometimes." She countered as she got down from the counter, he had placed her on.

He studied her beautiful face and felt his chest tighten.

Her face was devoid of makeup, and if anything, she looked more beautiful than he'd ever seen her. Her eyes were brighter, and even though he knew she'd been crying, that to without any good reason, the sight of her simply took his breath away. She whispered his name and it snapped him out of his trance.

He had meant to ask about her flight, if she was hungry, about her luggage since she had walked in with nothing but a handbag. His intentions were to look out for her. But now he felt lost. Dazzled . He had missed her a lot more than she could ever. He missed her constant chattering, her filling up the silence with her weird super active imaginations and opinions which most of the times brought him to a new prospective. Something he was never going to admit but loved all the same.

"You are so damn beautiful," he said softly, slowly lifting his hand and skimming his fingers along the soft skin on her face. Her eyes slowly closed and her lips parted on a sigh. His other hand came up and caressed her other cheek. He marveled at the softness of her skin and smiled at the small mole just below her right eye that was camouflaged by her thick lashes, things that were lost to him when he was forced to keep his distance.

Time seemed to stand still, and it didn't matter that a storm was raging outside or that they had the kettle on the beeping. The only thing that mattered right now was Zoya, his shartwy. It would have been so easy to just lean forward, to press his lips to hers, but Irtaza had never been one for going the easy route.

Zoya opened her eyes and almost melted. Irtaza's gaze, so deep, so dark, was focused on her with a passionate intensity she had never seen before.

His hands, hands roughened from years of years of shifts he pulled to pay for his college fees. (something she was so proud of. Hers was a self-made man. Her biggest flex ever) , touched her with infinite gentleness. They traced her cheeks, then her chin, and slowly skimmed down the column of her throat which was covered by her dark maroon scarf which he removed; her entire body cried out for the same attention.

She wanted more and she needed to know that Irtaza was aware of what he was doing, that he wasn't going to pull away because he had some office work he needed to complete, or some client he needed to meet. Reaching up, she placed her hand on his and subdued his movements. "What are we doing?" she whispered. The smile he gave her in return finished the job of melting whatever parts of her were holding out.

"If you have to ask, then maybe I'm not doing it right." Leaning his head down toward hers, Irtaza stopped when there was barely a breath between them, his lips almost touching hers. "I've wanted to do this since I first saw you from across the lobby."

Zoya laughed softly, unable to help herself. She removed her hands from his and slowly looped her arms around his neck. "You wanted to invade my personal space, well I beat you at that." She whispered as she turned red. He chuckled and rested his forehead against hers. "Yes. That's exactly what I wanted to do. And now that I've done it, I guess I can walk away. Mr. Hudson might be waiting for me. Thank you, Shortwy, you are such a help." He replied moving an inch away from her.

"Take one step and I might have to kill Mr Huddson" she threatened as she scrunched her nose not liking that he was leaving. Another laugh of his echoed as she did her best to pull him closer. And then it got serious. Very serious.

It was everything. Irtaza cupped Zoya's face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers. He felt her sigh and relax against him, and it felt like everything he had ever wanted and like nothing he had ever known. Her lips were soft and pliant under his and for the first time in his life, Irtaaza didn't give. He plundered. He took, and he savored her.

It was a kiss of desperation and it wasn't enough. They had been away from each other, starving for each other. Irtaza's hands traveled up into Zoya's hair, which was secured by the joora pin, removing them he let them free; he loved the fullness, the texture. He particularly loved the sounds coming from her as he gently anchored his hands into it. Tilting his head slightly, he finally allowed his tongue to trace the fullness of her bottom lip.

God, she was sweet. With a small whimper, she clutched him closer and then opened her lips to let him in. He groaned with the first contact of his tongue against hers. It was slow, sweet, and erotic. Why had he never appreciated the physical contact before.

His hands left her hair and skimmed back down over her cheeks, her throat, her shoulders as she shivered. He felt dizzy; his legs felt weak. Were they really still standing in the middle of the kitchen? The bedroom was only 15 feet away, but that would require moving and moving would force his lips to leave hers for which he wasn't ready.

Not something he was willing to do at the moment. Or anytime soon.

Moving his hands towards her waist, he reached around and lifted her. Zoya gasped against his mouth but as soon as he placed her on the countertop, she was the one who dove back into the kiss.

He moved in close and smiled against her mouth when she wrapped her legs around his.

Zoya hummed her approval of the new position Oh my ,she thought loving every second of the plunder .

She'd known he had been a good kisser, missed how his hands felt amazing on her body. And she wanted all of it. Her whole body was aching for more. More of him in general. Zoya was more turned on than she expected, she was supposed to be jet lagged.

She knew what would happen if she were to turn the tables on Irtaza and become the aggressor. His need for control went all the way to the bedroom.

Irtaza slowly moved his lips away from hers, across her cheek, and down her jawline, to the pulse beating in her neck. "I am sorry. But we had to do that first. I could kiss you all night. But I'd much rather move this for the later and get you something to eat first..."

She almost purred at the thought of kissing him all night.

"Yes, lets feast on you." Zoya said with a sigh and then blushed like a school girl. His mouth and tongue were doing wicked things along her throat, and she wanted him to have full access.

Irtaza couldn't help but chuckle slightly against her. He couldn't remember a time he'd been so turned on and filled with humor at the same time. He couldn't even remember having humor in the first place. It was a good feeling, a really good feeling. And it was about to get a whole lot better. Funny how with her in his arms, the apartment finally felt like home.

"It's good that we're on the same page," he whispered between heated kisses. He couldn't get enough of kissing her, touching her, breathing her. It was sensory overload. As much as he wanted to move things to the bedroom, he couldn't make himself stop.

"Irtaza" Zoya pulled her lips from his and reached up to cup his face.

"Please remove that kettle, I am having difficulty concentrating" She was curious to see his response. One dark brow arched upwards at her. She mimicked the expression.

And then without a word, he lifted her up and flung her over his shoulder. Zoya let out a yelp of surprise and then she simply laughed with glee. Irtaza took her to the bedroom and kicked the door shut before she had a chance to catch her breath.

Later that night , Zoya snuggled closer to Irtaza , with a sleepy smile on her face she asked, "I'll take it as you missed me too?" He shook his head.

"Why didn't you inform me , you were coming? Do you ever check weather updates before getting on flights?"

"Umm no? Why you don't sound very cheerful about me being here."

"I am cheerful !" He said and she rolled her eyes. " The fact that you could be stranded if it snowed or something worse could have happened is just not sitting well with me."

"Oh!" She sighed sadly.

Irtaza tucked a finger under her chin and gently forced her to look at him. "What's wrong with that?"With a shrug, she said, "It's just...well...there's something romantic about surprising ? You thought I was your imagination. I saw your burrows furrowing as if you were concentrating really hard."

"Zoya !! You are never ever hopping on a flight alone. And you so aren't crossing oceans alone or without informing me."

The chuckle escaped before she could help it. "You're such a control freak."

She elbowed him in the ribs.

"What? Ismain control freak kahan say agaya ?"

(What does it have to do with control freak?)

"I am talking about being romantic. I sat on an 14 hour plus flight to see you and you are lecturing me on the impracticality of it."

"And...?"

"And...you completely missed the point. You, unromantic oaf"

"You thought otherwise a few minutes ago."

"Well, I thought wrong. Nothing new here."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth Irtaza pulled her and pinned her to his chest. He silenced any further questions, for the time being, as he placed his face in the crook of her neck and she went still. Completely still. She instantly melted beneath him as her arms came around his and his other hand snaked up into her hair.

It was Irtaza's favorite positions to be in. Actually, any position that had his body pressed up against Zoya's and her hands on him was his favorite position. She sighed his name and hmmed—another favorite—and Irtaza would have travelled as many oceans as they came if it meant keeping her happy and satisfied and in this bed with him.

Every once in a while, they heard the windows rattle as the cold wind hit it, but they were safe and secure in their own little world and it seemed as though nothing could touch them. Irtaza was perfectly content to be cut off from the outside world , uninhibited. It wasn't often that he allowed himself to get to this point of no restrictions. No one needed him, except her.

"You are never leaving me behind!" She whispered as she snuggled into his arms.

"Never! You are my Zoya." He pledged.

"Why does my name sound different when you say it?"

"It does ?"

"Yup. You say it like Zooyeah. Baki log Zoya boltay hain."( Everyone else, calls me Zo-ya) She said emphasizing the a's and o's . He shook his head. Both sounded same to time. But he didn't say it out loud.

"Your parents named you, haina?"

"Nani Ammi"

"huh ?"

"Nani Ammi named me. Not my parents."

"It suits you. You are loving and caring . The most alive person I have ever known. Do you know Zoya means life? Meri Zoya(my life)." He whispered as he kissed her temple and Zoya turned red.

"Funny how you complain that I am not romantic and then you go scarlet , when I am just talking about your names. UnroMantic Oaff.. ", he said mimicking her