JAY JAY POV
"Keifer," I called out.
He didn't say anything. Instead, his foot pressed harder on the gas, the engine of the car roaring as we shot through the London streets. He was weaving through traffic with a reckless precision that made my stomach do somersaults.
"Keifer!" I called out again, louder this time.
Nothing. Not even a glance. He just kept his eyes glued to the road, his knuckles white as he strangled the steering wheel. I could practically feel the heat radiating off him; he was vibrating with a mixture of protective rage and absolute fury.
Typical, I thought, leaning back against the seat and hugging the melting bag of groceries. Asshole. Ego's at an all-time high.
He wasn't just mad at those guys. He was mad at me for going out without a phone, and he was definitely mad at himself for letting me out of his sight
We reached the house and he went straight to the kitchen
"Why did you leave without telling me?" Keifer demanded, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous register.
"Keifer, I just went to buy some—"
"Why. Didn't. You. Tell. Me?" He interrupted, each word hitting like a hammer.
"You were on the phone!" I snapped back, my own temper beginning to flare. "You looked busy and serious. I didn't want to disturb you for a ten-minute run for groceries."
"And your phone? Why did you leave that at the house?" His voice was rising now, the vibration of it rattling the nearby glasses on the counter.
"I forgot it," I said flatly.
"What the fuck do you mean by 'forgot'?"
"I forgot, Keifer!" I shots back, officially annoyed. "It happens! I'm human!"
"Jay, do you even realize what would have happened if I hadn't looked out that window and seen you walking away?" Keifer yelled.
The volume of his voice was so loud that footsteps came thundering down the hallway. Keigan and Keiran burst into the kitchen, their eyes wide as they took in the sight of us squared off in the middle of the mess.
"I would have been fine! I can defend myself!" I shouted at him, squaring my shoulders. I wasn't just some helpless girl; I had been trained by the best.
Keifer looked at me like I had lost my mind. The disbelief in his eyes was insulting. "What the fuck do you mean by 'defense'? Jay, look at the reality! They were seconds away from throwing you in that car! They were about to kidnap you!"
"And I already knocked one of them out!" I argued, gesture towards the door. "Stop treating me like I'm made of glass!"
"Glass breaks, Jay!" he roared back. "And if you break under my watch, there is no fixing that! You didn't just forget a phone—you forgot that there are people out there who want you dead just to get to me!"
The kitchen stayed silent for a heartbeat, his heavy breathing the only sound. Keigan and Keiran stood frozen by the door, watching their older brother lose his mind with protective fury.
"Fuck, Jay," Keifer snapped, pacing like a caged animal. "Are you even listening to me?"
I crossed my arms and stared him down, my expression cold. "You're sounding exactly like Kuya Angelo right now."
Keifer stopped mid-stride, his eyes darkening. "If I were Angelo, I would lecture you until your ears bled. But I'm your husband. I don't lecture—I punish."
"Puni—" I started to scoff, but the word died in my throat.
This asshole didn't give me a chance to finish. He lunged forward, his hand cupping the back of my neck as his mouth crashed onto mine. It wasn't a sweet "I'm sorry" kiss. It was a "You scared the hell out of me and I'm still mad at you" kiss.
"EWWWWWWW! What am I seeing?!" Keiran's high-pitched holler filled the room as he watched us practically eating each other's faces. "MY EYES! I'M BLIND!"
Keifer ignored them completely. He kissed me with a punishing heat, and I, still fueled by the adrenaline of our argument, kissed him back with pure, unadulterated anger. Our teeth clashed, our tongues fought—it was a battle of wills masked as a kiss.
"Go to your room, please, Kuya!" Keigan groaned, his voice filled with second-hand embarrassment as he stepped forward to clap his hands over Keiran's eyes. "This is a kitchen, not a club!"
Keifer actually took the advice. Without breaking the kiss, he hooked his arms under my thighs and hoisted me up. My legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, my fingers digging into his hair. He carried me out of the kitchen and up the stairs, his movements fast and purposeful.
He kicked our bedroom door shut with a loud SLAM that echoed through the house
He moved toward the bed and lowered me onto the mattress, but he was careful—gentle, even—despite the storm still raging in his eyes. He stayed hovering over me, refusing to release my lips for even a second.
I tangled my hands into his shirt, pulling him down harder. He wanted to punish me? Fine. He wanted to dominate the situation? He had another thing coming. I met his intensity move for move, my heart thundering against my ribs as the line between our anger and our desire completely blurred.
No way in hell was I letting him win this one and if he wanted a fight, I'd give him one—right here, on the bed.
"Think you're in charge, Watson?" I breathed against his lips, my voice a challenge. "Try me."
He let out a low, guttural growl at my challenge, his weight pressing me firmly into the mattress. The "punishment" he had intended was quickly turning into something much more dangerous for both of us. The anger was still there, buzzing like an electric current between our skin, but it was being rapidly overtaken by the sheer, desperate need to know the other was safe.
Keifer pulled back just an inch, his eyes scanning my face with a ferocity that made my breath hitch. His thumb swiped over my lower lip, which was swollen from his kiss.
"You're the most frustrating, stubborn, reckless woman I've ever met," he rasped, his voice thick and sandpaper-rough.
"And you're a possessive, overbearing, dramatic asshole," I shot back, though my hands were busy pulling him closer by the collar of his shirt.
He let out a dry, humorless bark of a laugh. "Yeah. We're a real match made in hell, aren't we?"
He moved his hands, pinning my wrists against the pillows above my head. It was a dominant move, a silent reminder of his strength, but I didn't flinch. I just arched my brow, my eyes challenging him to do his worst.
"You really think you can lock me away?" I whispered. "You think you can just carry me up here and make me forget that you yelled at me in front of your brothers?"
"I don't want you to forget," he murmured, leaning down so his lips brushed against the shell of my ear, sending a violent shiver down my spine. "I want you to remember the feeling of my heart almost stopping when I saw that car. I want you to remember that if you go, I go. There is no 'King' without the 'Queen,' Jay. There's just a ghost."
The vulnerability in his voice cracked the last of my defensive walls. My grip on his shirt loosened, and I felt the tension in his hand fade as his grip on my wrist finally fell away. He wasn't holding me anymore; he was just... holding onto me.
"Why, Jay? Why do you always do things that make me go crazy, or things that make me have a heart attack?" Keifer asked, his voice barely a whisper. He looked at me with so much raw emotion that it hurt to see
I looked at him, and for the first time since he'd burst through the kitchen doors, the anger in my chest softened into something heavy and aching. His eyes weren't filled with the arrogance of a King or the temper of a Watson; they were filled with the terrified honesty of a man who realized his whole world could be snuffed out in a single moment of silence.
"I'm sorry, Keifer," I said, my voice barely audible over the sound of our breathing. I reached up, my hand no longer a fist but a soft caress against his cheek, tracing the line where my words had probably stung more than any punch could. "I will inform you next time. I promise."
He let out a long, shuddering breath, closing his eyes as if he were finally allowing his heart to start beating again.
"Don't be sorry next time," Keifer murmured, leaning his forehead against mine. "Just tell me. Jay, you're a Mariano and you're a Watson. You're not just anyone. To the world, you're a target. To me... you're the only thing that matters."
He pulled back just enough to look me in the eye, his expression intense. "I'm not trying to be Angelo. I'm not trying to control you. I'm trying to keep you. There's a difference."
I nodded slowly, finally understanding the weight he was carrying. "I know. I'm still learning how to be part of a 'we' instead of just an 'I'."
The "punishing" kiss from the kitchen was gone, replaced by something much deeper and more reverent. He kissed me again, but this time it was slow, a silent apology and a desperate plea all wrapped into one. I tasted the salt of sweat and the faint metallic tang of the blood from his lip.
I pulled him down, my body molding against his. We lay there for a long time, the chaos of the day fading into the background. The cake was forgotten. For now, it was just the sound of our synchronized breathing and the heavy, territorial weight of his body on mine.
"Thirteen days," he whispered against my neck, his breath hot. "Thirteen days until I never have to let you out of my sight again."
"You're still going to have to let me go to the bathroom alone, Keifer," I teased, trying to bring back a bit of the light.
He nipped at my shoulder, making me gasp. "Subject to negotiation."
I laughed, a real, genuine sound, and tucked my head under his chin. We were far from perfect, and the war following us was only getting started, but in this room, behind a locked door, I knew exactly where I belonged.
"Fine," I murmured, closing my eyes. "But you're still finishing that cake with the boys later. I'm not doing it alone."
"Deal," he sighed, finally letting his muscles relax under mine. "But only if you promise to never, ever leave your phone on the nightstand again."
"Promise," I whispered, though I wasn't done with him yet. I sat up on the bed, looking down at him. "Now, about your punishment."
Keifer blinked, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be the one giving out the punishments here, wife."
"You already did yours," I countered.
"No, I—"
I cut him off by pressing my hand firmly over his lips. "You're going to clean up the entire disaster zone in the kitchen. And also..." I shifted, sliding onto his lap and wrapping my arms around his neck. "Since I'm so 'stubborn,' as you put it, I've decided to make an alteration to our rules."
Keifer's hands immediately found my waist, his grip tightening as his eyes darkened. "I like where this is going," he murmured, leaning in to trail a row of hot kisses along my jawline.
"Oh, yeah?" I breathed, my head tilting back to give him better access.
"Yeah," he rasped against my skin, his breath hitching. "Tell me what else."
"First, you have to make up with Aries and the rest of the boys. Properly. No more of this cold war bullshit. And second..." I paused, a playful glint in my eyes. "The second rule is you have to let scientists find the actual edge of the universe."
Keifer pulled back just enough to give me a flat, deadpan look. "Jay, that's literally impossible."
"I know," I teased, leaning in so our noses brushed. "So just focus on the first one. Make up with Aries soon, Keifer. Even I'm growing impatient with the tension between you two. If you want your 'reward' before the wedding, I want peace in the family."
He groaned, his forehead thumping against my shoulder. "You're a cruel woman." But his hands didn't let go; instead, he started to pull me closer, his intent clear.
"Kuya, are you oka—"
The door swung open, and I froze. My heart nearly exited my chest through my throat. I was still straddling his lap, my hands in his hair, and his hands were... well, they weren't in his pockets.
I whipped my head toward the door, my face turning a shade of red that probably matched the burner on the stove. I could have sworn this asshole locked the door. I heard the click! Apparently, the King of the Serpents was better at breaking bones than he was at engaging a simple privacy latch.
Keiran stood in the doorway, his jaw hanging open. Behind him, Keigan looked like he wanted to phase through the floor out of sheer secondary embarrassment.
I didn't even move. I couldn't. I was a statue of pure, unadulterated mortification.
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📝 AUTHOR NOTE
Since you guys completed the target for the last chapter, there's no target for this one 🌼✨ As soon as I finish writing the next chapter, I'll post it right away 🤍📖🌙