The Royal Contract

He woke up smiling, feeling the soft body cradled in his body. He had no idea what happened exactly to them since he was so dead tired earlier when he laid down beside Dani. But he was glad to wake up with her sleeping so peacefully beside him.

He knew it took time before he had fallen asleep, but he also felt that she was restless on her side of the bed. But maybe in time, they eventually succumbed to their bodies much needed rest, not knowing what they did next.

At least she looked refreshed and rested compared to when he last observed her face this morning. Although, he was amused when he saw her eyes and face showing signs of good sleep while softly snoring on his chest. It was adorable, he thought.

He attempted not to move much and tried to even out his breathing, afraid that he might wake her up. He wanted to keep looking at her, keeping this moment for a little bit longer if he could. Even though all he wanted was to touch her face, he still kept his hand to himself.

"What are you trying to do to me?" He said in barely a whisper as he finally moved a tendril of her hair that was covering a small portion of her face. 

He then remembered his thought earlier about falling in love. Was it possible that in just a short period, he could feel it again? He knew he had been in love before, but it ended badly. 

He questioned if he was ready to undergo that same path. Should he act on his feelings for Dani or keep it to himself? That was if he was indeed in love with her.

In truth, he believed that she was not hard to love. Any man could easily find himself falling for her. Dani was everything a man would want in a woman. She was near perfect.

But in his world, he found it hard to even think of loving someone at the moment when things were this complicated in his life. Especially now that there was a power struggle in his family. He was sure that people who wanted to get back at him would try to use her against him.

He did not realize that this simple celebration that he only did for his parents would turn out this way. He never wanted to be part of this royal charade, but it would seem that The Council and his father were adamant about making him king. 

"Uhmm!" She started moving, but instead of pushing her body away from him, she shifted until she snuggled even closer. That made it harder for him to stay away.

She thought that she was still dreaming as she felt the warm body that was comforting her. An arm around her shoulders made her smile as if it was the most natural thing that could happen to her.

She linked her arms more around his body and snuggled her face on his chest, not realizing what she was doing. But when the arms around her finally tightened, she suddenly realized that it did not feel like a dream anymore.

She opened her eyes to see a set of eyes, wide awake, staring back at her. Those eyes looked so familiar, when she blinked hers and opened it once again, it dawned on her where she was and what she was doing. 

"Good morning, or shall I say good afternoon. I think we slept almost the whole day." Alex declared, tilting her chin more so she was face to face with him.

"Oh my. I'm sorry." She suddenly pulled back and quickly sat up from her position, getting out of his hold eventually.

"No need to be sorry." He told her as he too plopped himself up on the pillows into a sitting position.

"How long have you been awake?" She questioned if he had been studying her during her sleep. 

Dani wondered what she looked like and what embarrassing things she had done while she was in deep slumber. It was hard to remember when you were not sure which one was real and just a dream.

"Not long. I just woke up when you did." He did not want to embarrass her more by telling her that he had been studying her sleeping form for some time. Besides, it sounded creepy.

"Well, what time is it?" She questioned, feeling so much better than before. 

She believed that she was almost back to her old safe. The fever and chills were gone. And the ache in her body had also subsided down to a very tolerable level. 

"It is almost five in the afternoon. Are you hungry? I can ask someone to bring us food, and we can have our early dinner here instead of joining them." He figured that she might still feel down the weather to join the others, so it would be better if they just had their dinner separately in the confine of their room.

"That will be nice. I think that is a good idea for now. I don't want the others to get what I have by joining them now. Maybe tomorrow I am going to feel so much better, then I can join the others." She agreed with him. "But you don't have to suffer and eat with me."

"But I like to join you for dinner. It will be my pleasure to dine with you if you allow it." When he saw some hesitation in her eyes, he continued. "Besides, everybody will be expecting that I will always stay at your side, especially in times like this."

He did not want to use that excuse against her, but he was desperate when he saw that she was about to decline his offer for a dinner date. To her, it was just another dinner, but to him, it was more than that.

She knew he was right. The people around them would expect them to be together at all times. Alex was supposed to be a doting fiancé. He had to play his part as she also pretended to be a loving girlfriend.

"Fine. I am indeed starving, so if it is not much trouble, would you care to request some food. I would appreciate it." She moved towards the bathroom to fix herself, leaving Alex on the bed, still lazing around. "I'll just fix myself."

She had no idea of what she looked like, but at least she was wearing a decent nightgown that did not show too much of her skin. But still, it did not stop her from remembering the scene when she woke up.

She could still feel his body against her when she thought that she was dreaming. His hard muscular chest underneath her hands was still fresh in her mind, despite the shirt covering his body. 

She only wished that he would think that she was still sleeping when she did all those things. Because as of the moment, she was uncertain of how to feel about it.

"Stop." She should not be thinking of him that way. She immediately closed the door to the adjoining bathroom of his room. The room was spacious, as suspected. She doubted if anything in this place would have a standard size. 

She moved to the mirror above the sink and was shocked at what she saw. Her hair was all messed up. Her face was full of wrinkles from the imprint of Alex's chest as she used it as a pillow for her cheek. 

Her eyes had some dried morning dew, and her chin had dried drool around it. She looked a mess. She wondered what he thought of her when he saw her face.

Remembering his eyes when she looked up to it, all she saw was admiration and desire. Something that both frightened her because she might be reading too much to it. 

She quickly washed her face, using the soap on the counter, then realized that it smelled of him. She wanted to take a bath, but she was unsure if she had any clothes in this room. She did not want to end up naked again in just a towel in front of him. 

She covered herself with the thick bathroom robe that she found hanging on the wall. It must be Alex's robe since it smelled of his aftershave. She was not quite sure, but she liked its aroma. It was soothing her nerves.

She decided that she could take a bath later when she was sure of their sleeping arrangement. She still had to find out what would happen next to their situation. 

She combed her hair and just let it fall on her back. Then checked her face if it was better than before. "Please concentrate on what you are here for and nothing else." She reminded herself.

She then went outside to see if he had already taken care of the food because she was indeed starving. She believed that the only food she ate was the few bites early that morning before she went to sleep again.

When she walked out of the bathroom, he was not on the bed anymore. Turning around, she found him on the other side, on the phone, dictating instructions to whoever was on the other line. When he saw her, he immediately ended the call and walked towards her.

"I'm glad you're finished. The food is on its way. Just give it a few minutes." He told her as he assisted her to the table. "I'll wash up. Then we can eat together." He excused himself, leaving her to go to the bathroom.

Alone, she started to contemplate on their situation, realizing

she had gone farther than she intended. She had involved her heart in the equation as she found Alex as the man of her dreams. There was no way to stop it. She was too late.