The Royal Contract

"I was just joking," Alex said as he started laughing. "You should have seen your face. I thought you are about to smack me on the face for saying that." He said in between his chuckle.

"That is not funny." She pouted her lips as she punched him again in his arms. But she doubted if it even hurt him one bit, but it did make him stop.

"Ok. I am sorry. You were so serious, I wanted you to smile, but I think I only made you mad. I guess I still need to work on my jokes." He apologized, grabbing her hands as he peppered them with tiny kisses.

But he did enjoy taunting her once in a while. He always found it cute when her face contorted to its angry state. When her lips make that pout or the thin line and her eyebrows frown or raised upwards, he could not stop adoring her every quirk.

"You do that because you are not funny at all." She admonished him, but his lips on her skin were slowly dissolving her resolved.

She could never stay angry at him, especially when he kept that boyish grin on his lips as he stared at her. She was just no match with him when he started turning up those charms.

"Am I forgiven," Alex said so sweetly as he looked into her eyes. Those eyes knew she could not resist him.

It could read into her eyes and know what she was thinking. Oh, she hoped not because she was not even sure what it would read in the depths of her soul.

"Well, you are, but you owe me one." She told him, pretending to think of a way to get back at him. But she was never good at retaliating or pranking him back. Somehow, she would find a way.

"But I do think you need to freshen up." He said seriously this time. "Come on. I will bathe you before I tucked you in."

Alex grabbed the remote and turned off the movie. He carefully scooped Dani up from the sofa and carried her to her room, moving slowly not to hurt her foot.

Although she said to him that it did not hurt that much since she had taken pain medication. Still, he did not want to cause her unnecessary discomfort as he carried her like expensive porcelain.

"What about you? Are you not taking a bath with me?" She asked as he made her sit on the edge of the tub.

"Hmmm!" He pretended to be thinking about it as he opened the faucet to let the water flow on the big white marble basin and prepared what she would need.

"Can you grab the lavender?" Dani requested, and he moved to drop some lavender oil on the water.

"What else do you need?" He knelt before her and waited for her answer.

She smiled at him and moved her lips close to his. But before their lips could touch, she shifted her head to the side of his face and started sniffing on his neckline.

"You kind of stink too." She taunted him. "I think you also badly need a bath."

"Do I now?" He answered her with a cute laugh. "Then, if you say so. Maybe I shall take a bath with you." He started removing every single piece of clothing until he only had his briefs left on his body.

"Oh, aren't you excited to take a bath?" She continued with her teasing.

"I am, so shall I help you with your clothes." He carefully removed her clothes, especially when it was time to pass it through her injured ankle. Thankfully, he was very gentle. She only felt a slight pain.

Then, he slowly lifted her body and placed her inside the tub, submerging her into the slightly warm water. After removing his remaining clothing, he also followed her and entered the tub behind her.

It was not the first time they bathed on the tub together. But every time Alex joined her, Dani could swear that it was always different from the last. As if he knew what she needed at the moment. She felt calmer and safer when his arms started to enveloped her body. 

"Why did I get so lucky to have a prince take care of me?" She mumbled as she felt his hands caressed her arms, her back, and every part of her body that he could reach.

"Because you are my princess, and you deserve to be taken care of by me, only me," Alex said, emphasizing the two last words.

He never felt this need to be possessive, as if every time he saw her with Troy, his blood wanted to boil. It took everything in him to control himself. Because he always knew that he could trust her.

But he was not sure if he could trust that man. He was shady on his radar, and he realized now that he should be looking into him. He just had to be careful that Dani did not find out about it because she might not appreciate that he was checking on her friend.

After a while,  "I think we had enough of cleansing ourselves," Alex pulled himself up from the tub and dried himself, and wrapped a towel around him, then he assisted her out of the water and wrapped her up on a towel and a robe.

He carried her once again to her room and placed her gently on the bed. He took out one of her nightgowns and underwear and helped her get dressed.

"Now, off to bed." He instructed as if she was a little girl.

He laid her down on the bed. He also carefully placed her affected ankle with a pillow to support it. Then he gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead, covering her up with a thick blanket.

"What about you?" She asked, suddenly yawning and feeling the heaviness of her eyelids.

She could feel the darkness wanting to swallow her up. It must be the medication she took that suddenly made her sleepy.

"I'll get some pajamas on. I'll be right beside you in a second." He assured her as he searched inside his bag for some change of clothes.

She felt satisfied to hear that and waited for him to lay beside her. He always made her feel like she was the most delicate thing he ever touched.

But she had always known that she was not. She had learned to fend for herself ever since she had moved out of her father's care. However, Alex managed to make her believe that she needed him to protect her.

"Good night and sweet dreams." These were the last words she heard before her eyes closed shut. And his embrace was the last thing she felt as he cradled her body in his firm yet gentle arms.

But before she lost all her consciousness, a thought played on her mind. Her world was beginning to revolve around Alex. She was becoming too dependent on him.

She could not deny that she wanted him so much. The intensity of her growing feelings for him terrified her. She was afraid of what it would do to her. She was not sure how to explain it.

Somewhat it felt like she was ready to surrender all of herself to him.