The Royal Contract

When Alex arrived at Dani's apartment, he was surprised to see that the front door was slightly ajar. Either she did not close the door properly and locked it, or an intruder entered the premises. 

The latter made him worry as he stepped inside the house. He immediately called for her, hoping that she was ok. When he heard her replied, he sought her out, still with caution, not taking the risk of being caught unaware.

But finding her with her nosy neighbor in her kitchen was not what he was expecting. Of course, he remembered the man that could not keep his eyes off his girl. He was certainly not the friendly neighbor that he appeared to be. That remained his opinion.

"Yes, Troy, from the club." He offered his hand for a shake. Although, it was far from what he wanted to do to the man.

But his training prevented him from provoking a fight. He knew that violence only led to more violence. His principle about fighting had always been for self-defense only.

"Alex, right?" Troy took Alex's hand and gave it a firm shake. It was more of a show of strength rather than an offered friendship. "Well, I guess I better go. Thanks again for the sweetener."

Troy felt as long as Dani was still not married, he still had a shot. Why would he easily give up when she was a good catch. He was as good as any guy, even if he was competing against a prince.

"It's nothing," Dani replied with a timid smile to Troy. She did not want to add fuel to the fire that was already starting to burn in Alex's eyes.

Troy raised his cup to Dani and waved goodbye. "Hope to see you in our next run." He added. As if he was waving a red cape at a raging bull as he walked out of the apartment.

In the end, Dani could not stop the laughter that spewed out of her mouth when she heard the door clicked closed. And she was sure that Troy was already out of the room.

Alex looked at her as if she had gone mad. He finally dropped the things he was still carrying on his other hand on the side table and walked towards her in the kitchen. But Dani was still laughing uncontrollably every time she looked at him.

"What is so funny? Care to share." He was also barely controlling his temper from earlier.

"You." She said in between her laughter. "You should look at your face. I thought that you were about to explode."

His eyes were blazing, cheeks burning, and ears that were full of whistling smoke. Well, that was what Dani imagined in her mind when she saw the expression on his face earlier while Troy was in the apartment.

"There is nothing funny about what I witnessed." Alex blurted out, moving on the seat on the counter.

Her laughter finally toned down into a smile with a slight chuckle as she walked towards him and stood in front of him. With her two hands, she spread his legs to stepped in between them. 

Then her two hands moved to entwined her fingers on his hair and stared at his interestingly serious face.

"Are you jealous?" She asked as her fingers traveled down to his face to caress it. She suddenly felt overjoyed by the feeling that he felt so deeply for her to get jealous of another guy.

"No." He quickly said, but he knew it was a lie. "Yes. So, what if I am? I have every right to be. It was obvious that he was making a move on you, and you are entertaining him." He pointed out, swiftly deciding to tell her the truth instead of keeping his feelings for himself.

He could not help but compare this situation with his past. The way that his cousin befriended Tyra and eventually took her from him. He knew that Dani was different from Tyra, but it was harder to control his emotion when Dani was involved.

"First of all, Troy is just a friend. And even if he made a move on me, I already have someone stuck in my mind. I will never think of looking at someone else unless." She stopped her words before she said something that she might regret. 

She believed that they were not in that level of relationship yet, for them to talk about such deep commitment.

"Besides, did you not notice the effort I made to make this night special." She asked him, turning slightly towards the table. She spread her hands as she showed him her handiwork. She already prepared it earlier except for the light of the candle.

It was one of her surprises, but the earlier incident ruined it. But she believed that it was still salvageable. She was willing to do anything to make this night special.

"Wow, you did this." Finally, he noticed the table. Earlier, all he saw was the guy staring at her. But now, he felt ashamed for being jealous when all she did was think of him.

His earlier mood suddenly changed as he smiled at her. Then, he remembered her unladylike snort that he found captivating, but he was fuming earlier to appreciate it. 

He suddenly found himself laughing at his silliness. He must be going crazy. Because one minute, he was jealous and mad, then another minute, he smiled like a fool.

"Yes, because I miss you so much. We had been both so busy that we barely saw each other. I want to do something special." She moved out of his embrace and pulled him with her. 

She made him sat down on a chair as she lighted the candle in the middle. "Now, let me just get the wine." She stopped him from standing up from his chair. "Just wait here."

He looked at her as she sashayed her hips from left to right repeatedly. His earlier excitement was back as he waited for what else she had prepared for him. If he was dying in anticipation at the office a few hours ago, now, it was double as he sat a few meters away from her.