A tired sigh followed the click of the door behind her.

"We're finally home."

She turned to him and smiled, humming in agreement as a warm glow settled in her chest. She had been worried that he may be hesitant to move from Amir and the mansion, but the way he said 'home' so naturally gave her hope.

The glow flickered out as a pang shot up from her swollen feet, and the smile turned to a wince. Leaning against the nearby table, she removed the shoes that had earlier seemed perfectly matched to her reception dress. As she wriggled her feet out of their cages, Sanjay continued to speak.

"It's great that the wedding ceremony turned into a celebration party, but now I'm quite exhausted."

I'll never take my work boots for granted again, she mused, rubbing the circulation back into her abused toes. Aloud, she replied, "Agreed. It was a wonderful party though. Who would have thought that Hassan could dance like that? And all it took was a couple glasses of wine."

Chuckling at the memory of the Inn owner sweeping Rebecca onto the dance floor, much to the architect's chagrin, she was startled to look up and see that Sanjay had silently moved from the coat rack to directly before her. There was an unfamiliar intensity to his gaze, and the telltale darkening of his cheeks that she'd learned meant he was blushing. He reached out and gently pulled her hands away from their pedal ministrations, holding them in his.

"We're finally alone."

Rio felt her brain hiccup. She stared up at her new husband dumbly for a moment, feeling the heat rise in her. The only response she could form was a lame, "Yeah."

The intensity faded from his eyes, their usual serenity returning so quickly that for a moment she thought she'd imagined the expression.

"Why don't we get you off those aching feet? I do so hate to see you uncomfortable."

"Sanjay…" she stepped forward to close the gap between them, but the tall man was quicker. Neatly sidestepping her advance, he swept her up in his arms just as he had earlier in order to carry her over the threshold.

Rio almost protested at the action. She knew she hadn't imagined the heat in his violet eyes. She was no angel, and it wasn't the first time she'd been the subject of a lustful stare, but the sudden, focused attention of her usually placid love had been a bit of a shock. Sanjay had always been, if nothing else, the most proper man she had ever known. And so while they had engaged in plenty of handholding, the occasional snuggle during festivals and birthdays, and exchanged a fair share of kisses, he had never let them advance into 'dangerous' territory, citing something about her reputation or honor.

That's why, thinking closer on it, she decided she liked the smolder she'd seen. She liked it quite a lot.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, not hard given her current position, she nudged his thick braid aside with her cheek and kissed the little spot at the curve of his jaw that he liked.

"Sanjay."

She felt him swallow, the muscles of his throat tensing and releasing beneath her lips.

"Yes, Rio?"

She smiled, already anticipating his reaction to her next words. "Let's both stay off our feet for awhile."

There was a pause and then, far from the scandalized and gently reproachful reply she expected, she felt herself lowered into the embrace of their marriage bed.

"A most excellent plan for the evening."

She sighed happily as his lips brushed against the curve of her ear when he spoke, mattress shifting beneath her as he climbed in beside her. Grabbing the edges of his robes, she tugged him close and smiled.

"Hello, dear husband."

"Hello, sweet wife."

She could have laughed in sheer joy as he descended upon her, but her lips were otherwise engaged.