The Royal Contract

She felt she had overreacted once again to his perfectly seemingly legitimate concern. She had no idea why he could effortlessly push her buttons. 

However, her mind insisted on why he still affected her so much, but she kept pushing it aside as irrelevant. She could not believe that she still had feelings for him. That was just not possible, in her opinion.

"Let us forget about it." She finally dismissed the issue, finding no point in prolonging the argument. "What are you doing here anyway?" She moved towards the side table, finding her phone on the top.

She checked the time and was shocked to learn that it was almost noon. She had overslept for several hours. She probably missed her flight with Dani's parents, she concluded in her mind.

She also found the rest of her last night's clothing on the other side of the floor. She wondered how she got into her room and out of her clothes as she tried to recall her memories of last night.

She checked her phone for any messages but did not find any from Dani, which was quite unusual. Then again, she remembered that it was her honeymoon. Her friend might be too busy for her.

"Laura called me and asked me if I could accommodate you on my flight back home. They had to leave early and could not wait for you." He finally remembered his real reason for coming to see her.

In his justification, he was sidetracked by recent events. There was something more. Laura informed him not to mention the recent incident to her.

He agreed, knowing how emotional Jacky could be. He could recall a few times Dani was in trouble, and Jacky would be a wreck. What more if she learned of her friend's current condition.

"That is fine with me since I don't think I have any other choice." She responded in a very amicable tone. Well, beggars could not be choosy, she thought. As of now, he was the only way for her to go home.

She could not wait for Dani to come back for her. That would probably take a while. She could not ask Lance to fly her back home either. That would be a grave abuse of their friendship. 

Speaking of her friend, she wondered what happened to him last night. Her memories were partially coming back to her now. "By the way, had you seen Lance?" She asked since he was the last person she was with before she passed out.

"Nope." He answered her truthfully. He did not see him, but he assumed he was with the Council at this moment. But she did not have to know that. "But I will need you to hurry and pack up your things. I need to leave soon."

He was not giving her time to snoop around the palace where anybody might have heard of something. But they were keeping everything in low profile as much as possible.

They were hoping the news of the couple's disappearance would remain a secret for now, just until they found a clear lead to the actual situation.

"How soon?" She asked since she was barely alive and still needed some sustenance. Her stomach was already making some silly sounds.

She also needed to say goodbye to Lance before she left. He had been such a gracious host and friend. It was the least she could do.

"I will pick you up in thirty minutes." He finally gave her a time frame, hoping that it would be just enough for her to take care of her stuff. He was not lying either about being in a hurry.

"Wait, that is too short. I still have to eat and..." But her complaint was cut short.

"You can eat on the plane on our way home." He interrupted her. "I am sorry, but I have a very tight schedule. If there was any other way." He did not continue his statement, knowing that she understood his current situation.

Well, she knew his present situation. At least the part that he would be taking over Alex's position and workload in the meantime. 

He hoped that their friends' condition would be resolved soon. He had no idea how long he could keep this a secret from her. Besides, it would not be easy to run a company as the interim CEO. He was not prepared for it.

"Ok. I will hurry up. Now, can you please leave my room, so I can freshen up and pack up in peace?" Jacky walked towards the door, opening it for him, suggesting he should vacate the premises.

It was enough that he had seen her in her lingerie. She could not let him observe more of her clothes and undergarments as she packed up.

"Remember, I will be back in thirty minutes. Don't go wandering anywhere else." He reminded her before walking outside her door. "I will leave you behind if you are not ready by then."

He felt he needed to add the last part to make his point across with her still hangover state. He could not afford to be delayed. At the same time, he could not let her go snooping around the palace.

"I am not a child. Of course, I understand." She felt irritated that he was acting odd and treating her like an imbecile. She slammed the door behind him for simply feeling frustrated.

She quickly made a pit stop at the bathroom to take care of her hygiene. Then, she grabbed up all her things from the cabinet, drawers, and around the room, which was a lot. Dumping them all on the bed. 

Where were the maids who helped her unpack when she needed them? She asked internally with deep breaths, struggling with her large luggage out of the closet.

At exactly thirty minutes, Marcus was outside her room waiting for her. Despite her uncharacteristic morning, she did manage to organize her things just in time.

Immediately, he escorted her out of her room into a waiting jet. As soon as they were boarded, the crew only made a few announcements, and then they were off the air.

She stood in front of his seat when the seatbelt sign was turned off. He had his eyes closed, but she knew he was awake, judging from his breathing.

"What is really going on?" She asked, curious about the way he was acting. 

The way he raised his brow at her sudden question intrigued her more. She did learn a few things about him while they were together. That was a sign that he was stalling answering her.

"As I said to you, I am just preoccupied with work." He answered, unaware of her presence in front of him.

He was trying to avoid her, deciding to sit at the back. While she was in the front portion. He did not want unnecessary confrontation with her again since it would only lead to more trouble.

"You have been acting strange." She was not known to be intrusive for anything. She could smell if there was something fishy going on. "What are you hiding?"

She was baiting him to give up whatever he kept from her. Although she still had no idea what it was. This time, she tried to reel in the big fish. 

Sudden air turbulence caused the plane to wobble, making the plane unstable for a second. However, this incident forced Jacky to lose balance, pushing her forward where she landed on top of him.

To stabilize her, Marcus, in instinct, took hold of her waist and held her tightly secured on his lap. This time, they ended up face to face with only a few inches separating their faces.

"This." He answered her question as he eliminated the small space between them. He covered her luscious lips with his, devouring her like a starving man.

He had wanted to do this to her, dreamed of it so many times. Now that she landed right in his arms, he could not let her go. Not until he had proven that she had completely moved on.

"What are you doing?" She asked breathlessly when he temporarily released her lips to gaze into her eyes. Shocked and caught off guard, unable to comprehend the sudden shift in their situation. 

"I am doing what I should have done a long time ago." He replied before taking her lips once again, increasing their intensity to another level as if it was the last request of a dying man.

She could only moan in response, still dazed but thrilled with the onslaught of his lips against hers.. She was trying to catch him, but she ended up the one tangled in the net, unable to escape.