--: Keifer's POV: --
The cottage was a sanctuary of absolute silence compared to the rowdy, engine-roaring deck of the catamaran. The only light was the warm, amber glow from the bedside lamp I'd left on, casting long, soft shadows against the dark wood of the walls. The moment we stepped inside, the cool air-conditioning hit our salt-crusted skin, and I felt Jay-Jay practically deflate against my side.
She made a beeline for the bed, her movements jerky and uncoordinated with pure fatigue.
"Bed," she croaked, her hand reaching for the edge of the plush duvet like it was a life raft. Her knees actually buckled a little, and she swayed.
"No," I said, catching her by the waist. I redirected her toward the bathroom before she could face-plant into the pillows. "You're covered in salt and sand, Jay. You'll feel a hundred times better if we get you cleaned up. I don't want you waking up tomorrow with skin that feels like sandpaper."
"I can... I can shower tomorrow," she protested, her forehead dropping onto my chest with a soft thud. I could feel her eyelashes fluttering against my skin. "Too tired. Muscles... broken. Please. Just let me sleep."
"Which is exactly why a soak is better than a shower," I countered, my voice dropping to that low, steady tone that usually ended all arguments.
I didn't wait for her to agree. I scooped her up into my arms, her small frame feeling lighter than usual against my chest, and carried her into the bathroom. I set her down gently on the edge of the marble vanity, steadying her with one hand on her shoulder while I turned the heavy brass handles of the tub. The roar of the water echoed off the marble walls, and I poured in a generous amount of lavender and cedarwood bath oil. The scent immediately bloomed in the air—heavy, floral, and grounding.
--: Jay-Jay's POV: --
I didn't even have the strength to kick my legs as he carried me. I just buried my face in his neck, breathing in the lingering musk of his cologne. My head was spinning; the feeling of the boat's motion was still in my inner ear, making the floor feel like it was tilting.
With a quiet, focused efficiency, his fingers found the zipper of my dress. He helped me out of the salt-stained white fabric, his hands steady and clinical. He didn't say a word as he shed his own remaining clothes, his bronze skin glowing like polished copper under the vanity lights.
--: Keifer's POV: --
I stepped into the massive tub first, the heat a welcome, stinging shock to my tired legs. Then, I reached out and lifted her in, settling myself firmly against the sloped back of the porcelain basin.
I pulled her back until she was sitting right between my legs, her back pressed firmly against my chest. The water rose up to our shoulders, a thick blanket of bubbles and scented oil. I felt her let out a breath she'd been holding since we docked the boat—a long, shaky exhale.
"See?" I whispered, my arms wrapping around her middle, my hands resting flat against her stomach. "Better than the bed?"
"Maybe," she admitted, her voice barely a breath. I felt her head fall back against my shoulder, her neck exposed and pale in the steam.
--: Jay-Jay's POV: --
I was floating. Not just in the tub, but in the overwhelming feeling of being completely, utterly safe. Keifer's chest was a solid, warm wall behind me, his heart beating a slow, reassuring rhythm against my spine. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. He picked up a soft sponge and began to slowly run it over my arms. He was so quiet, so deliberate. He washed away the remnants of the ocean—the sticky salt and the tiny grains of sand between my fingers. Every stroke of the sponge felt like it was erasing a different worry.
"Stay like this?" I murmured, my eyes drifting shut.
"As long as you want, baby," Keifer replied, his voice a low vibration that I felt in my very bones. "The world can wait. I'm not moving until you do."
--: Keifer's POV: --
The water eventually started to cool. Jay-Jay was fast asleep against my chest, her body completely relaxed. I stayed for another ten minutes, just anchoring her, before I finally stood up. I was careful—slow and dripping—keeping her cradled against my chest as I stepped out of the tub.
I dried her off with a plush, oversized towel, my movements as gentle as if I were handling fine silk. I didn't want to wake her, but she needed something to sleep in. I walked over to my suitcase and pulled out one of my black cotton t-shirts—the softest one I owned.
I carefully navigated her arms into the shirt. It was massive on her, the hem falling well past her mid-thigh, the fabric swallowing her small frame. I didn't bother with anything else for her; the shirt was like a tent. I pulled on a pair of my own black boxers and nothing else, my skin still warm from the bath.
--: Jay-Jay's POV: --
I felt myself being lowered onto something incredibly soft. I was dimly aware of the smell of Keifer's detergent—fresh and masculine. I was so deep in the clouds of sleep that I didn't even open my eyes when I felt him slide into the bed beside me.
Instinctively, I crawled toward the warmth. I didn't want to just be near him; I wanted to be on him. I shuffled until I was sprawled directly over him, my body aligned with his, my head tucked perfectly into the crook of his neck. His t-shirt felt soft against my skin, smelling entirely of him.
--: Keifer's POV: --
I let out a low grunt as she settled on top of me. She was small, but the weight of her was grounding. Her heart was beating against mine, her breath warm and steady against my collarbone.
My arms wrapped around her, one hand resting on the small of her back, the other tangled in her damp hair. I pulled the heavy, plush duvet over both of us, sealing out the rest of the world.
"Sleep well, little demon," I whispered into the dark.
I closed my eyes, the exhaustion of the day finally pulling me under.
_________
--: Keifer's POV: --
I was right on the edge of drifting off, that heavy, dark cloud of sleep finally starting to pull me under, when a sharp, persistent buzz vibrated from the nightstand.
I stiffened instantly. In our world, a phone vibrating at night usually meant a problem—a breach, a threat, or an emergency that required immediate blood. My first instinct was to reach for the handgun tucked under the frame, but then I felt the soft, rhythmic puff of Jay-Jay's breath against my collarbone.
She was still out cold, sprawled over me like a tiny, warm blanket. Her fingers were curled into the fabric of my t-shirt, and her weight was a grounding anchor that kept my adrenaline from spiking too high.
I didn't move my lower body, not wanting to disturb the precarious peace of her sleep. I carefully extended my arm, reaching for the phone with the precision of a surgeon. My fingers grazed the glass, and I brought it toward my face, the dim blue light of the screen illuminating the dark room.
It was a message from David.
------
💌David:
Change of plans. We've decided the squad needs a recovery day. Tomorrow is a complete blackout. No early wake-up calls. No scheduled activities. No breakfast service—if you're hungry, you're on your own with the snacks or the kitchen. Nobody knocks on any doors. Don't come out until you're ready. The island is yours to sleep in.
------
I stared at the text for a long second, processing the words. No interruptions. No one yelling about schedules. No MJ banging on the door at sunrise with some ridiculous "extreme" challenge. No Gorya or Thyme dragging us into their latest argument.
A dark, slow smirk tugged at the corners of my mouth.
I looked down at the girl sleeping on my chest. Her hair was still a little damp, fanning out over my shoulders like dark silk. The massive shirt I'd put on her had bunched up slightly, and she looked so small, so remarkably peaceful.
No interruptions.
That meant I didn't have to let her go. I didn't have to peel her off me at 6:00 AM. I could keep her right here, pinned under my arms and the heavy duvet, for as long as I wanted.
I set the phone back on the nightstand, face down this time, and tightened my grip around her waist. If others thought they was being generous, they had no idea what they'd just handed me. I wasn't planning on letting her see the sun until noon at the earliest.
"You hear that, little baby?" I whispered into the crown of her head, my voice barely a thread of sound. "The world just got cancelled. It's just us."
She let out a tiny, soft sigh in her sleep, shifting her face further into the crook of my neck, her nose brushing against my pulse point.
I closed my eyes, the smirk still lingering on my lips as I finally let sleep take me. Tomorrow wasn't just a day off. It was a lockdown. And I was the one holding the key.
--: Jay-Jay's POV: --
The first thing I felt was the sunlight. It wasn't the soft, filtered light of dawn, but the bright, aggressive gold of a sun that had already been up for hours. It was slicing through the gap in the heavy curtains, landing right across my eyelids like a warm blade.
My brain, still foggy from the deepest sleep I'd had in months, suddenly misfired.
The boat. The reef. The schedule. Section E.
The memories of yesterday's chaos hit me all at once. David's voice booming about punctuality, MJ's megaphone, the "vultures" on the boat planning what to do today... my heart gave a violent, panicked thud against my ribs.
"Oh no," I gasped, my voice a croaky, sleep-thick mess. "Keifer! Keifer, wake up!"
I tried to bolt upright, my muscles screaming in protest as the adrenaline spiked. I was tangled in the heavy duvet, my legs caught in the fabric of the massive black t-shirt I didn't remember putting on. I planted my palms against the mattress, preparing to launch myself toward the shower, but I didn't get more than two inches.
A heavy, solid weight clamped down around my waist.
"Go back to sleep, baby," a low, gravelly rumble vibrated against my back. It wasn't just a voice; it was a physical force.
"No! Keifer, look at the light!" I hissed, twisting in his arms, my hands pushing against his bicep—which felt like a literal iron bar. "It's late! We're probably three hours behind schedule. Aries is going to kill us. Or worse, Kavin is going to come in here with that GoPro and film us sleeping. Let go!"
I struggled harder, trying to pry his fingers off my hip, but it was like trying to move a mountain with a toothpick. Instead of letting go, he let out a dark, annoyed huff and hauled me backward.
In one fluid, effortless motion, he flipped me over until I was pinned flat on my back against the pillows, his massive frame looming over me.
--: Keifer's POV: --
I watched her eyes—wide, amber, and frantic—as she stared up at me. Her hair was a wild, gorgeous disaster across the white linens, and her chest was heaving with a panic that was entirely unnecessary. She looked like a trapped bird, and honestly, the sight of her trying to "escape" me at 10:00 AM was making my blood stir in a way that had nothing to do with waking up.
"Stop moving," I growled, my voice still thick with the remnants of sleep. I pinned her wrists above her head with one hand, my other arm acting as a pillar next to her head. "You're making my head ache with all that screeching. Stop moving a lot baby you are disturbing someone, if it wakes up it is going to make you scream for hours."
"Keifer, the squad—"
"The squad is dead to us today," I interrupted, my gaze dropping to her lips, which were parted in shock. I leaned down, my nose brushing hers, making sure she could feel the heat radiating off me. "I got a text from David at midnight. Change of plans. The 'vultures' are exhausted. There is no schedule today, Jay. No breakfast. No early dives. No knocking on doors. They officially declared a blackout."
I felt the tension leave her body in a slow, staggered wave. Her wrists went limp in my grip, and her breathing finally started to even out.
"Wait..." she whispered, her eyes searching mine. "No one is coming? We're... we're allowed to just stay here?"
"Nobody is coming," I confirmed, my voice dropping an octave as I released her wrists and let my hand slide down to the side of her neck, my thumb grazing the spot I'd marked yesterday.
"We have the entire day. No one is preparing food, no one is checking in. We are officially off the grid."
--: Jay-Jay's POV: --
The silence of the cottage suddenly felt different. It wasn't the silence of "we're late," it was the silence of "we're alone."
I looked up at Keifer. He was shirtless, his bronze skin glowing in the morning light, his dark hair messy and falling over his forehead. He looked relaxed, but there was a predatory edge in his eyes that I recognized instantly. The "Green Flag King" from the pier was gone, replaced by the man who didn't like to share.
I let out a long, shaky breath, my fingers tentatively reaching up to trace the line of his jaw. "So... we're on our own? If we're hungry, we have to find our own food?"
"Something like that," he murmured, his gaze darkening as it raked over me, taking in the way his oversized shirt had slipped off one of my shoulders, exposing the pale skin beneath.
I bit my lip, a tiny, nervous thrill running through me. "Then... what do you want to do, Keifer? Since we have all this time and nowhere to be?"
--: Keifer's POV: --
A slow, mischievous smirk spread across my lips—the kind of look that usually meant trouble for everyone else and absolute heaven for us. I leaned down until my lips were a fraction of an inch from her ear, my breath hitching as I smelled the lavender from the bath still clinging to her skin.
"Well," I whispered, my hand sliding under the hem of my t-shirt to find the bare skin of her waist. "I'm not particularly interested in the snacks in the kitchen. And I'm definitely not interested in going outside."
I shifted my weight, pressing her deeper into the mattress, my eyes locking onto hers with a heat that could have set the whole island on fire.
"I think," I growled, my voice vibrating against her skin, "that I have a few ideas on how to spend a blackout day. And none of them involve leaving this bed."
Jay-Jay's eyes went wide, a soft, breathless gasp escaping her as she realized exactly what was about to happen. Her arms wound around my neck, pulling me down, and I knew right then—Others could keep this island. I already had everything I needed right here.