After speaking with King Alistair, Maxen dragged his feet to his bedroom. Although his conversation with his dad plagued his mind the entire time he was walking, his feet automatically stopped in front of the threshold of his bedroom.

For a second, he stood in front of the door to gather his bearings and clear his thoughts just in case he roused Olivia up in her sleep upon entering. 

Scratching the skin above his eyebrows, he took one deep breath, releasing all his pent up stress through pursed lips. 

His hand then wrapped around the brass doorknob, gingerly twisting it in a certain way he knew that it won't make a squeak. 

After all, even with the utmost care and maintenance of The Highlands, most of the things inside were antique including the squeaking doorknob that Olivia loved to make fun of every time she got the chance to open the door for herself.

Closing the door, he toed his shoes off, one foot after the other, afraid that the scuffle of his shoes against the carpet would wake Olivia up from her sleep. 

He left his pair of shoes in a corner, and tiptoed to their bedroom on the left side, passing by his private study first.

Guessing from the absence of any light, Maxen did his best to adjust his eyesight to the darkness, stretching an arm out just in case he hits something along the way.

He could open the light on his phone, but he was too lazy and the feeling of walking in the darkness of the night exhilarated him as if he was on a mission. 

Maxen was in his A-game and his adrenaline was at an all-time high. His mission was to reach the ensuite without using any form of light and without making any noise as much as possible.

His footsteps were featherlight and his movement was fluid. To top it off, he hadn't broken a sweat yet.

Thump. Thump. Thump. He could hear his heartbeat ring in his ear. He just left his private study and crossed the line where a sleeping Olivia was waiting for him. 

He had to triple his efforts on achieving his personal goal of entering his own bedroom like a thief in the night.

"What the heeeeeeck!!!" Maxen shrieked, his lungs collapsed from sheer terror when a cold hand wrapped around his ankle. 

He wiggled his leg to free himself from the clutches of the poltergeist who got lost and wandered in his bedroom but it wouldn't let go of his foot.

The guards wanted to scratch their heads. Another false alarm. They were itching for some action and this was all they got. Little did they know the action they wished for would cost them their lives in the future.

"You're dismissed," Maxen barked, fl.i.c.k.i.n.g his wrist to shoo the guards out of the bedroom. 

His lips quivered and annoyance painted his face, but it slowly turned into a helpless smile. "I almost died, baby," he said, shaking his head.

"I know," Olivia agreed. She then lied down on her side and propped her head on her knuckle. 

She was smiling oh so sweetly at Maxen, her back-up plan just in case her prank backfires. "That's some powerful chords you have, Max."

"Not as powerful as your chords when I make you come. Am I right?"

"Why don't we try to find out?" Olivia challenged, c.o.c.king an eyebrow at Maxen who was now up on his feet. 

In an instant, Maxen scooped her off the floor and threw her on the bed. She bounced as she landed on the mattress, and her giggles reverberated in the bedroom. However, her giggles died down when Maxen chained her on the bed with his weight, his steel rod erection pressed in between her t.h.i.g.hs.

She swallowed nothing but a ball of air in her throat. "Is this your punishment?" Olivia asked, circling the tip of her nose against his. She knew he did that on purpose, tempting her with his promise of euphoria so she would crave his touch and submit to his will.

"Nope. You said you want to try. Am I correct?"

"I did."

"So we will try."

"But… Maxen?" Olivia scrunched her nose. She pushed Maxen on his shoulder with the ball of her hand but failed when he dipped his head to the side, his lips brushing on the shell of her ears.

"No buts. Let's try that thing we did last time," Maxen reminded her of that one time he dry humped her, leaving her in exaltation of his name and him finally finding his release.

"Oh, goodness gracious. Can you not be horny all the time?" 

"Can't help it when I'm with you." Maxen grinned, followed a chuckle when Olivia rolled her eyes at him.

Pinned beneath him, Olivia could feel the ramble of Maxen's c.h.e.s.t against hers and was glad that he was genuinely happy for the first time of the day.

"Ok. Lights out. Go change so we could sleep," Olivia urged him to which he obliged with a 'Yes, ma'am.'

Planting a kiss on her lips, Maxen then pushed himself off of her, standing at the foot of the bed. 

After a few minutes, Maxen joined Olivia on the bed, scooping her in his arms. 

"Never ever think of pulling something like that again on me," he warned Olivia, pinching her nose.

"It was a last-minute idea actually. I heard you opening the door and tiptoeing so might as well give you a little shock," Olivia explained, her head buried on his c.h.e.s.t where it was warm and comfy even with his hardened muscles. 

"Hey…. Let's talk first," she said, pinching his n.i.p.p.l.e. She knew Maxen would fall asleep as soon as he hit the sack. 

True enough, Maxen was fast asleep even though his hand flew to hers, gripping it with light force to stop her from assaulting him. 

"Okay, okay. I'll talk to you tomorrow then," Olivia surrendered, and with Maxen beside her, her eyelids suddenly became heavy. Soon she, too, was drowning in a much-needed sleep.

The following day, Maxen was already in the final steps of his bath routine, foaming his face to shave a stubble that seemed to grow longer than usual after three days of not shaving.

He lifted a hand, about to swipe the blade against his skin when he felt a pair of eyes ogle him from the side. Placing the shaver on the marble vanity, a smile curved his lips as he met Olivia's groggy stare through the mirror. 

Maxen shook his head. It was obvious that Olivia was still sleepy with the way she was hugging the door frame to keep her balance. 

"Go back to sleep," Maxen urged her but Olivia dragged her feet to the vanity, perching her bottoms on it. 

"Nope. I'm not sleepy anymore. See," she said, picking up the shaver and dangling it in the air. Her once groggy eyes turned sharp as an eagle as she glided the blade against Maxen's jawline.

He shouldn't let her do it, not with how drowsy she looked but he loved it when Olivia initiates to do something in his stead, so he braced both of his hands on either of Olivia's sides and dipped half of his body in a comfortable height for her to work on. 

"Sooo," Olivia trailed off, cleaning the blade before moving into an unshaven section. "What did you guys talk about last night?"

"Hmm. There's Lance Go and his child. According to Wyatt, Lance refused to give the baby a name, so now we don't have a choice but to leave the naming under the Lees or whoever steps in to adopt the baby."

"I have a feeling Ava would step in and take responsibility for the baby. She's always been close with Selena anyway. Ho-ho. I can hear Ollie screaming from here," Olivia exaggerated and a chuckle escaped her lips as she tipped Maxen's face to the side to the opposite side to work on it. 

"And…"

"And?" Olivia raised a brow when Maxen paused and his hesitation over whether or not he would give her a heads-up of his plan or was it already written all over his face.