The Royal Contract

Then, she leaned forward, planting her lips with his, wanting nothing else between them. For now, she was settling with what he could give her, satisfied with the effort he was making to make their relationship work.

“I promise to make this work,” Marcus continued what he was supposed to say earlier. But he knew it was not the words that sprung to mind before he stopped them.

He still believed he could not say love because it would be meaningless. But he swore to do his best to be a better lover and a boyfriend for as long as she would have him.

Quickly, he was on the same page with her as their bodies entwined in a battle of domination. But both were satisfied with what the other gave, and the other took.

After a while, he fell into exhaustion and deep sleep, but she remained staring at the ceiling with her wandering thoughts. She knew she promised not to settle for less, but she did not want to lose him.

She decided she should wait until he was ready to acknowledge that he loved her. She could see it in his eyes every time he looked at her. She heard it in his words, felt it in his touch, and sensed it with his presence.

.....

“I love you.” She mumbled to herself, just wanting to get it off her chest. She knew he would not hear her, judging from the snore coming from his lips. But she still wanted to say it out loud.

She believed he would eventually realize it through time. Through her help, she hoped he would learn the meaning of true love. Then he would learn to embrace and admit it to her.

After a few more minutes of doing nothing, she gave up trying to sleep. It was still early anyway, but she wondered about their clothes. They were still outside in the trunk of the car.

She guessed she should settle with the clothes she had on earlier. She went for a quick dashed to the bathroom to do some business and then searched for something she could use.

But the bathroom seemed to be lacking some of their necessities as she opened the cabinets. “Where are the robes?” There was a towel, though, which she thought would have to do.

She wrapped her body around it after taking a quick shower. Then proceeded back to the room. She started picking up her blouse, then the rest of their clothes scattered on the floor where they might have thrown them.

Then, “Ouch!” She quickly lifted her right foot after a shooting pain went through her body. She felt something prick the bottom of her sole. She looked down, but it disappeared from her sight.

She bent her knees and crouched down on the floor, trying to check on the object she had stepped on. It appeared that it went under the bed when she accidentally kicked on it.

She figured it might be something that had fallen off his pants. Since it was lying next to his things. But whatever it was, she had to find it because it might be something valuable.

“Where are you?” She mumbled as she stretched her arms under the bed.

She spread her fingers, letting her hand search thoroughly in the dark space. It was partially dim inside the room since the curtains were down, but she could see that there was still a bright light outside, partially illuminating the room.

When her fingers finally felt the object, she immediately grabbed it, pulling it out from under the bed. But her eyes bulged when she saw what it was. It was a surprise that she was not expecting.

Could he? Could it be?

Questions plagued her mind upon gazing at the tiny black box in her hand. It could contain several things, but she could not help speculate about a specific item.

She wished to open it. At the same time, she feared seeing its content. She could feel her heart throbbing every second she held on to it, wondering what was inside.

“Jacky?” A voice suddenly resounded in the room, notifying her that he had awoken.

Quickly, she hid the box behind her back and stared at the partially naked man, still lying on the bed. At least most of his vital organ was still covered with the white blanket.

“Yes,” Jacky immediately answered, keeping the object out of his sight.

She kept her gaze at him, but her mind was trying to figure out how to return the box inside his pocket. She did not want him to know that she had seen his other surprise, although she still had to know what was inside.

“What are you doing up?” He questioned, stretching slightly on the bed and searching for her.

He just realized he must have dozed off after the strenuous activity they had shared. But when he woke up, he did not expect to find himself all alone in the bed.

“I was hungry and thinking of going out to check for food.” She immediately came up with an excuse.

She could not tell him she could not sleep because she wanted to declare her undying love for him. Then, she could not also admit that she had seen something she should not have.

“You and your stomach,” Marcus groaned as he jumped off the bed, letting the sheets fall on the floor. “Give me a minute to get ready.” He informed her, striding towards the bathroom in a hurry, completely naked.

He could not actually blame her for starving. He did wear her out. Even he could feel his stomach grumbling at the moment. Well, he admitted that sex could not fill this kind of void. This time, only food could feed his hunger.

“Ok. I’ll just wait here and get dressed.” She told him before he could disappear inside the other room. But her eyes followed his every step, admiring his physique. She could not help it.

She stayed in her position until he had partially closed the door. Making sure, she waited some more. When she heard the water splashing on the tiles, she picked up where she had left off before he interrupted her.

She stared at the box for a minute, debating if she should take a peek inside. She held the box close to her face and quickly opened it. Finally, making a decision before she could change her mind.

Damn, she thought as she stared at the object, lifting it with her fingers for closer scrutiny. Her suspicion was right on the mark. It was something she was not expecting to find in his things.

“Damn!” She repeated, louder this time, unable to believe her eyes. She could not help but wonder what he was planning to do with it.

Suddenly she regretted opening the box and looking at it. It would now keep nagging at her consciousness until she found some answers.

Well, she should really take heed that curiosity did kill a lot of cats. At the moment, she could not unsee what she had already seen.

There was no going back, and she hated that she could not ask questions about it but instead had to wait patiently for its grand reveal. Suddenly, she thought it was like opening pandora’s box.