The Royal Contract

He halted on his track when he heard her shout. With his hand on the doorknob, he looked up to see what she was up to.

"What now, Jacky?" He asked, a bit exasperated with her.

He was glad to see her but at the same time relieved that she decided to leave. He was not up for another confrontation with her. Not tonight.

He was physically exhausted and needed much sleep. He could hardly keep his eyes open, much more discussed the merits of his action earlier.

He could already guess that her unexpected appearance in his apartment had something to do with the kiss. If he was not busy with other concerns, he might be thinking about it too.

"Actually, I am not sorry that I came here." She stormed closer to him, her eyes not wavering from his face.

Now, she knew she sounded like a lunatic but could not care less if she made a scene in the middle of the corridor for all his neighbors to hear. She would tell him what she thought of him and his stupid action.

"In fact, I think you should be the one saying your sorry for kissing me, then saying that it should not have happened." She rattled on, remembering too clearly what occurred on the plane earlier.

She continued to march in his direction while he stopped just outside the already opened door, not seemingly surprised by her outburst.

"Jacky, I already said I am sorry on the plane. But if you want to talk about this, maybe it would be better if we do it inside my apartment." He offered, not wanting the other three tenants on this floor scandalized.

Besides, he had a long day and a very tiring night. He volunteered to stay with the rescue operation tonight, but Ethan forced him to go home.

He did agree with him. Somebody had to show up tomorrow in the office and deal with the issues on that side of the fence. Ethan would handle the offense while he took charge of their defense.

But, he could not tell Jacky any of this without revealing to her the actual situation. For now, she would have to stay in the dark while he helped find their friends and catch the bad guys.

"Fine." She conceded, seeing the tired expression on his face.

She had never seen him with this look before. It was as if the world was on his shoulders. She always thought of him as the man who

She also admitted that it would be better to privately talk about their issues. Luckily, nobody from the floor witnessed her unladylike behavior.

She entered his apartment at his behest. Still, she showed him that she was not satisfied with his apology. Her face maintained a disgruntled expression as she walked to his living room.

She did remember his place. It looked exactly the same as when she was last came to visit. Well, except for a few pieces, here and there.

"Would you like to sit down? I am getting myself a drink. Maybe you would like one." He offered as he walked over to his minibar.

He was unsure if adding alcohol to his system would help, but he badly needed one, thinking that he might as well get the issue settled all at once.

He gestured for the seat and was glad that she finally had calmed down a bit as she settled on the middle of the couch. She never answered his question, so he opted to serve her one.

"I am sorry if I was caught in the moment earlier. I did not mean to kiss you." He said after taking a large gulp of his drink.

He walked toward the lone chair and sat on it, noticing that she had been silent since entering his apartment. He wished he could read her thoughts, but her expression was not giving him much.

"Did not mean to kiss me?" She looked at him incredulously, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Oh, I am sorry if I thought that it might have meant something." The words were rushing out of her mouth without her comprehending them.

Here she was beating herself up with that kiss when he just admitted that it did not mean anything to him. It was just a spur-of-the-moment response to an incident that she had caused.

"I meant I wanted it, but I knew I should not have." He interrupted her, surprised by the way she was acting.

He did remember seeing the way she acted around Lance. The way Lance had been attentive to all her needs. He was sure that they looked great together, even happy. He could not stand in her happiness.

"You have no business kissing me if you were just playing with my feelings." She continued, not comprehending what he had just said.

Marcus finally placed his glass down on the coffee table and focused his eyes on her. "I was not playing with you. I said I wanted to kiss you."

He swiftly moved toward her side and placed his hands on her shoulders. This forced her to stop and tilt her head to his until their eyes met.

"I want to kiss you." He was not talking about the kiss on the plane anymore as he stared into her eyes. He could clearly see the desire in them. Something that he thought he would never see in them again.

He could also feel the shallow breath that she quickly released from her lungs. If he placed his palm over her chest, he could guarantee that he would be able to feel the quick heartbeat underneath his skin.

"What?" Suddenly, it all made nonsense. She stared at him as if he was talking jibberish. "You wanted to kiss me." She misinterpreted that they were still talking about the last kiss they shared.

"Yes, Jacky, I did." He finally admitted, not caring if it was not she had come here to hear. In truth, he had no idea why she was here in the first place. "...and I also want to kiss you now."

He placed his hand on her cheeks, running his hand along her skin, stopping his fingers just beneath her chin. Then, with the palm of his thumb, he touched the softness of her red lips.

She had always been too good for a man like him. He never felt he deserved someone like her.. She was an angel while he was a jackass son of a gun.

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