AUTHOR POV
The warm, tropical afternoon sun began its slow descent, painting the private ocean view in streaks of bruised purple and molten gold. On the balcony, the plate that had once held a towering stack of pillowy pancakes sat completely bare, save for a few sticky smears of maple syrup.
Inside the villa's cavernous master bathroom, the atmosphere was a stark contrast to the breezy beach outside. The massive, freestanding marble tub was filled to the brim with steaming water, smelling faintly of vanilla and expensive lavender oils. Bubbles spilled over the edges, creating a plush white carpet on the heated tile floor.
Jay Jay sat submerged up to her collarbones, her hands gripping the rim of the tub like a small, feral animal guarding its territory. Her hair was a damp, tangled halo around her face, and her lower lip was jutted out so far it was a wonder it didn't trip her.
Standing directly behind her, kneeling on a plush foam mat with his sleeves rolled tightly past his elbows, was Keifer. And, true to his solemn vow, his eyes were squeezed shut so tightly his eyelashes were trembling.
"Keifer, if you use the body wash instead of the conditioner again, I am going to drown you in this tub," Jay Jay barked, her voice echoing off the Italian marble. "Are your eyes closed? Let me see. Turn your face down."
"My eyes have been closed since I walked through the door, Jay," Keifer sighed, a helpless, amused smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He blindly reached out, his large hands hovering in the air for a second before gently finding the crown of her head. "I am operating entirely on muscle memory and spatial awareness right now. Relax."
"I can't relax! You're treating my head like a bowling ball!" She huffed, splashing a wave of warm water over the side. "And tilt my head back more! You're letting the water run down my forehead. If it gets in my—"
"I have it, I have it," he murmured, his tone shifting into that soothing, deeply patient register he reserved exclusively for her wildest tantrums.
He cradled the back of her neck with one massive palm, supporting her weight effortlessly as he used a silver cup to pour warm water over her thick, dark hair. He was incredibly gentle, his long fingers working the rich, fragrant shampoo into her scalp with a slow, deliberate pressure that should have had her purring.
"You're doing it on purpose," she muttered, though she let her head sink heavier into his hand. "You're taking too long. You just want me stuck in here so you can play the doting savior."
"Yes, that's my grand evil scheme," Keifer chuckled, his eyes still resolutely shut.
"Volunteering for manual labor while being blinded and yelled at. Truly, a mastermind."
He reached for the silver cup again, pouring a fresh stream of water to rinse out the suds. He used the side of his thumb to wipe the stray moisture from her brow, moving with meticulous care.
But gravity, fluid dynamics, and Jay Jay's sheer inability to sit still for more than thirty seconds had other plans.
As she suddenly jerked her head to look at the bathroom mirror, a single, rogue bubble of concentrated shampoo slid down the bridge of her nose and landed squarely inside her left eye.
The reaction was instantaneous.
"AH! Oh my god! Keifer! Murderer!" Jay Jay shrieked, instantly flailing her arms. Water splashed wildly, soaking the front of Keifer's linen shirt. She clutched at her face, thrashing around in the water like a hooked marlin. "It burns! The toxins are melting my cornea! I'm blind! I am literally legally blind!"
Keifer's eyes flew open in alarm. "Jay, stop moving! Don't rub it!"
"Don't look at me!" she screamed, her right eye watering furiously while her left eye remained clamped shut. She threw a handful of bubbles directly at his face. "Close your eyes! Close them right now, you pervert!"
"Jay Jay, you are actively experiencing a chemical emergency in your eye, and you're worried about modesty?" Keifer yelled back, half-laughing and half-panicking as he wiped soapy foam off his own cheek. He grabbed a clean, dry hand towel from the rack. "Let me look at it so I can rinse it out!"
"No! Look away!" She dunked her face into the bathwater, trying to rinse it herself, only to come up sputtering, coughing, and looking even more furious. "I hate you! I hate you so much! This villa is a trap, the pancakes were a bribe, and you are trying to assassinate me!"
"Give me your face," he commanded, his voice dropping into a firm, unyielding authority that usually made her knees go weak—though right now, it just made her scowl harder.
He leaned over the tub, gripping her chin firmly between his fingers to stop her from thrashing. With his other hand, he soaked the corner of the towel in clean, running tap water from the faucet.
"Please let me open my eyes," Keifer muttered, his gaze fiercely locked onto her bright red, watery left eye as he gently dabbing at the inner corner. "You're acting like I've never seen you like this before. Jay, we've together for months. I know every single inch of your body."
"That is a completely different context, and you know it!" she yelled, her voice cracking dramatically. "This is about the principle of the matter! A queen does not allow her subject to gaze upon her while she is covered in bubble bath and looking like a drowned rat!"
"You don't look like a drowned rat," he said softly, his thumb sweeping over her cheekbone to wipe away her tears. "You look beautiful. Even when you're screaming bloody murder over a single drop of baby shampoo."
"It's not baby shampoo! It's salon-grade! It has acids in it, Keifer!" She swatted his hands away, though the burning had finally subsided into a dull itch. She blinked rapidly, her eye still pink but fully functional. She glared up at him, her chest heaving as she pointed a dripping, accusatory finger at his soaked chest. "I mean it. I hate you. I regret everything. I regret coming to this island with you."
Keifer blinked, staring at her for a beat. Then, a slow, incredibly wicked smirk spread across his handsome face. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning his hip against the edge of the marble tub, completely unbothered by the fact that his shirt was translucent from the water splash.
"Oh, really?" Keifer asked, his voice dripping with smooth, teasing arrogance. "You hate me?"
"With the passion of a thousand burning suns," she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest beneath the water, splashing more bubbles onto his knees.
"That's fascinating," Keifer murmured, leaning in closer until his face was just inches from hers. The heavy, tragic sorrow that had haunted his eyes the night before was completely gone, replaced by a dangerous, playful spark. "Because after crossing every single line with me so long ago, you're saying you hate me?"
Jay Jay's cheeks instantly flushed a deep, violent crimson that had absolutely nothing to do with the hot bathwater. "Keifer! Shut up!"
"No, let's talk about it," he teased, his dark eyes dancing with absolute triumph. "You're standing there, calling me a pervert and telling me to close my eyes, when you literally gave me yourself a long ago. You didn't seem very concerned about the 'principle of the matter' when your hands were in my hair because you were cold."
"That was a completely different situation!" she stammered, her voice reaching a pitch only dogs could hear. She grabbed a large, floating mountain of bubbles and stuffed it directly under his chin like a makeshift beard. "And that was a moment of weakness! I was freezing! You took advantage of my fragile, shivering state!"
"Fragile?" Keifer threw his head back and laughed, the sound rich and booming against the bathroom tiles. "Jay, you threw a glass vase at my head right before that. There is nothing fragile about you. You are a tiny, violent dictator."
"I am the queen!"
"Then consider this a mutiny," he whispered.
Before she could process the words, Keifer reached into the water, scooped her up under her arms, and lifted her straight out of the tub.
Jay Jay let out a high-pitched squeak of betrayal as the cool air hit her skin, but before she could even begin to flail, Keifer plunged her right back down—not into the bath, but straight onto his lap as he sat down flat on the plush, oversized bath mat on the floor.
He immediately threw a massive, warm white bath sheet over her, wrapping her up tightly just like the duvet from earlier. He pulled her securely against his chest, locking his arms around her waist so she couldn't wiggle free.
"Let me go! You're wet! I'm wet! We're ruining the floor!" she yelled, though her struggles were half-hearted at best. She buried her face into the crook of his neck, her teeth biting lightly into his collarbone in retaliation.
"The floor has a drain, Jay. We'll survive," Keifer murmured, his laughter dying down into something incredibly warm and grounding. He rested his chin on top of her damp head, rocking her slightly on the bathroom floor. "Just stay still for five minutes. Stop fighting me."
Jay Jay let out one final, dramatic sigh, letting her body go completely slack against him. The warmth of his skin radiated through his wet shirt, and the familiar, steady thumping of his heart beneath her cheek instantly silenced the rest of her ridiculous arguments.
She turned her head, pressing her lips against his neck in a soft, silent apology for the tantrum.
"My eye still hurts a little," she mumbled into his skin, her voice finally dropping its sharp edge.
Keifer smiled, pressing a tender kiss into her damp hair. "I know. I'll buy you a visor for next time, your majesty."
"A golden one," she demanded weakly.
"Naturally," he agreed. "Only the best for my short-tempered marshmallow."