Jay had never seen this side of him before.
This wasn't the teasing "Hubby" or the protective "Golden Boy"—this was a man who looked like he could devour her.
The air between them felt thick, almost heavy enough to choke her.
Her heart was a battlefield, split violently between two overwhelming feelings.
One side of her—the part that had spent all night terrified of losing him—wanted to reach out and pull him closer, to feel the reality of his heartbeat.
But the other side, the shy and innocent girl who had lived a sheltered life, was trembling with a deep, primitive fear of the predator standing over her.
She wanted to push him away, to find her space and breathe, but her hands felt like lead.
She was paralyzed. Her eyes grew glassy and flashy, reflecting the moonlight like two polished stones.
She was lost in a sea of emotions she couldn't name, her lip trembling as the pressure in her chest became too much.
A single, crystalline tear pooled in the corner of her eye, ready to fall.
Keifer stared directly into her soul, his face inches from hers. He saw the flash of the tear. He saw the genuine terror in her wide, glassy eyes.
Then, the tension snapped.
His dark, intense expression crumbled.
His eyes softened instantly, turning from obsidian back to their warm, honeyed gold. A second later, he burst out laughing.
"Oh my god, Jay!" he wheezed, clutching his stomach as he backed away, finally giving her air.
He leaned against the nearby wardrobe, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
"You... you should see your face right now!"
Jay stood frozen against the table, her breath hitching in a confused sob that hadn't quite finished forming.
She blinked, the unshed tear finally rolling down her cheek, but her brain was struggling to catch up with the sudden shift in the room.
"I... I..." she started, her voice small and shaky.
"I was just joking!" Keifer managed to say between laughs, wiping a stray tear of amusement from his eye.
He looked at her, his expression now full of affectionate mischief.
"I couldn't help it. You were being so quiet after the office, I just wanted to see how long it would take for the 'Ice Queen' to melt again. I didn't think you'd actually think I was going to do something 'dangerous'!"
He stood up straight, his laughter dying down into a soft, warm smile, though his eyes still danced with fun.
"You're so innocent, Jay. It's almost too easy to tease you."
Jay stood there for a moment, her chest still heaving from the adrenaline.
A strange, complicated feeling washed over her. She was relieved—half of her was so happy that the "dangerous" Keifer was gone—but the other half of her felt a tiny, secret pang of sadness.
She didn't understand why, but part of her had almost wanted the tension to be real.
Keifer, still grinning and breathless from laughing, leaned back against the bookshelf.
"Do you really think I would do something like that?" he asked, his voice returning to that playful, warm tone she knew so well.
"Do you really think I'm that much of a villain, Jay?"
Jay couldn't look him in the eye. She looked down at her feet, her cheeks turning a deep, dusty pink.
"I... I don't know," she whispered, her voice tiny. "You looked so serious."
"I missed my calling as an actor, clearly," Keifer teased.
He turned around to lean his hand on the side table, still looking at her and enjoying how flustered she was.
"But seriously, Jay, the way you were looking at me—"
"Ow!"
The laughter was cut short by a sharp hiss of pain. In his distraction, Keifer had slammed his palm down right onto a small fruit knife that Jay had moved while cleaning the shelves.
The "shy girl" disappeared in an instant. Jay's maternal, protective instincts took over.
"Keifer!"
She rushed forward, her embarrassment forgotten. She grabbed his large hand, turning it over to see a small but angry red cut blooming across his palm.
The sight of his blood, even just a little bit, made her heart squeeze with worry.
"Are you a kid, Keifer?" she scolded, her voice trembling but stern.
"How can you be so clumsy? You were just acting all tough, and now look at you!"
Keifer winced, but he couldn't help the stupidly happy smile that grew on his face as he watched her.
She looked so focused, her brows furrowed in concentration as she worried over him.
"It's just a scratch, wifey," he murmured, his voice softening.
"It's a cut!" she corrected him sharply. She didn't let go. Instead, she wrapped her small fingers firmly around his wrist, her touch surprisingly sure and steady. "Come with me. Right now."
She led him toward the en-suite bathroom, pulling him along like a naughty schoolboy.
Keifer followed her obediently, his eyes fixed on the back of her head, watching the way her messy bun bobbed as she walked.
Once inside the bright, marble-tiled bathroom, she turned on the cold water. She didn't let go of his wrist as she guided his hand under the stream
The bathroom was very quiet, except for the sound of Jay's fast breathing.
She was still worried about Keifer's hand. She led him to the big marble bathtub and pointed at the wide steps.
"Sit," she said, sounding like a tiny, bossy general.
Keifer sat down like a good boy, watching her with a playful look in his eyes. Jay knelt beside him and grabbed the first-aid box.
she pulled out a small bottle of medicine to clean the cut. But the cap was stuck. She twisted and pulled, her face turning red, but it wouldn't budge.
"Jay, let me do it," Keifer said, reaching out. "You're going to hurt your hand."
"No!" Jay snapped, pulling the bottle away. "You are the patient. Just sit still and be quiet."
"It's a child-proof cap, Jay. Give it here." He reached again, his fingers brushing against hers.
"I can do it, Keifer! Stop being so bossy!" She yanked it back, but he didn't let go.
POP!
The cap suddenly flew off. Because they were both pulling so hard, the orange medicine splashed everywhere.
A giant, ugly brown stain landed right in the middle of Keifer's expensive, bright white shirt.
They both froze. They stared at the shirt as the stain got bigger and bigger.
"Jay... look what you did," Keifer said, trying not to laugh.
"What?!" Jay gasped, her eyes going wide. "I did? You were pulling it like a tug-of-war rope!"
"I was trying to help! Now I look like I spilled soup on myself."
"Yes, you did it! Who else!" Jay huffed.
She was in "panic mode" now. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward the big glass shower.
"We have to wash this before the stain stays forever. Come on, move!"
The Hurricane and the Shower
Keifer let her shove him into the shower stall.
He just stood there, leaning against the wall, watching Jay run around like a tiny hurricane.
She was looking at the shower panel, which had about twenty different buttons and knobs.
"Honestly, Keifer, you are so careless," she scolded, her mouth moving a mile a minute.
"First you stab yourself with a fruit knife, then you ruin your shirt... you're supposed to be a smart, but you're just a big baby..."
She reached for a big silver button.
"Jay," Keifer tried to say, "Wait, that's the—"
"Shut up, Keifer!" she interrupted, waving her hand at him.
"Let me do it! Why are you talking so much? Just stand there and be a good!"
Keifer blinked, pointing at himself. "I talk too much? Me?"
"Yes! Who else! You're always teasing me and making me nervous. Just stay still!"
Keifer put his hands up. "Fine. I won't say another word."
"Good!" Jay huffed.
She wanted to turn on the small tap near his waist to soak the shirt.
She saw a button with a picture of water and pressed it as hard as she could. CLICK.
She expected a little splash of water on his chest. Instead, there was a loud HISSSSSS from the ceiling.
Before she could even blink, the giant "rain" shower head directly above her opened up.
A massive, cold waterfall slammed down right on top of Jay's head.
In one second, her hair was flattened against her face like seaweed.
Her oversized grey T-shirt became a heavy, soaking wet mess.
She stood there, water dripping off her nose, looking like a very grumpy, very wet kitten that had been dropped in a pool.
Keifer was standing just an inch away, perfectly dry. He stared at her for two seconds.
Then, he lost it. He clutched his stomach and let out a huge, booming laugh that echoed off the bathroom tiles.
"I thought you were the boss, Jay!" he choked out, laughing so hard he had to lean against the glass to stay standing. "Nice aim!"
Jay wiped the water out of her eyes and looked at him. He was dry, he was handsome, and he was laughing at her.
"You..." she growled, her eyes narrowing. "You think it's funny?"
A/n :
Hey buddies 👋👋 how's the chapter.
Now take spoiler too ( and wait):
Wet together 😉