Chapter 47: Chapter 47

NELINA

The conversation with Royce in the hospital keeps replaying in my head. Royce seems really happy helping my family that I could not help but be curious about his own family. His parents, he said, left him when he was little. It must have been hard for him. The thought of it crushed my heart.

It was all about me, my anxiety, my family, and my job. He always made time for me. I forcefully shut my eyes and suppressed the guilt inside. I should be reciprocating all the love he gave me; I don't want him to feel that way, not seeing his worth.

My nails raked on the bed I sat on. I felt like I'd put too much burden on Royce's shoulder. If not for his looks, I wouldn't believe that he is a 30-year-old man. Royce was way more mature in dealing with things more than any other man I know in his age.

I caught myself wiping beads of tears flowing down my face. Royce deserves to be treated more than I do. I let out a long breath before I stood up and made my way to the wardrobe to change for a pair of pajamas.

My eyes wandered to the room I was in. It was the biggest next to the master's bedroom. Now my thoughts turned to Royce again.

He must be asleep at this time. I said to myself. I took my phone from the side table to check the time. It's past 11 in the evening. It's late, but a businessman like him could still be up until past midnight.

My curiosity brought me to the door, and before I knew it, I twisted open the doorknob to check if there was a trace of Royce in the living room. And to my surprise, he was there, eyes stuck on his laptop. There was a cup of coffee on the table in front of him.

Why is he working in the living room? He should be doing that in his room. I was a second late when I swayed the door to close it. Our eyes met when he glanced up from his laptop. His eyes widened. "Still up?"

I showed an awkward grin like a teenager caught sneaking late at night. "Yup"

"Come here," he invited me as he tapped the cushion.

It would be awkward if I decline; besides, there are things I want to talk about him.

"Sure," I said as I closed the door behind me.

"You're having coffee at this time?" I asked as I made my way to sit on the couch.

"Yes, I drink coffee while working. It's a healthy coffee," Royce said as he closed the laptop.

"You're working. Did I disturb you?" I pressed my lips in a thin line, my eyes on his laptop.

"No, I'm done. We can talk if you want." He trailed his eyes on my face.

It was awkward, but I like how his eyes adore me. Years had passed before someone gazed at me the way he did.

"Yeah, I wanna thank you for giving so much to my family. I appreciate it all."

"Baby, you said that numerous times. Enough, okay? Don't think about it."

What if he doesn't wanna talk about his parents anymore? But I could ask him casually if it's cool with him, then we can talk about it. I showed him a brief smile, my thoughts debated if I should ask him about his parents. I sighed, thinking if he would be offended.

"Is there something you wanna say?" His face was an inch away from mine.

"Time for cuddles," he said as he winked at me, one hand dropping to my waist.

I didn't protest; it was comfy.

"Yes, it's kind of personal. Unsure if you'll be open to talking about it."

"I am open. I was just waiting for you to ask."

"It's about your parents." Royce's eyes dilated to the mention of the latter.

"Would you talk about them? You know my family, but I barely know your family."

Royce's jaw hardened, his eyes clouded with pain as he intently stared at me.

"Baby, this is the part of my life that I've been meaning to cut off," his voice was low, but he said it with conviction as he gritted his teeth. Whatever might be their problem, it must be hard for him. I couldn't imagine growing up without my parents. Poor Royce.

The next thing I knew was that my arms wrapped around him. I couldn't stand staring at the pain in his eyes. I could taste the ache in his heart. The least I could do was to comfort him. I found myself stroking a hand on his back.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

He wrapped his other arm around me and rested his chin on my head. I felt him sniffing my hair. Thanks, God, I just had a shower. "Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I'll never ask again, not unless you open up with me."

He chuckled at my words, and I laughed in return. We laughed in unison. The rumble in his chest was as strong as my racing heartbeat. We were cut with a call ringtone. He loosened his arms around me; I glanced up at him before adjusting to where I sat. A little distance from him.

"You should take that," I said as I crossed my arms around my chest.

He was staring at the screen, and then he looked at me back and forth.

"Don't worry, this is not Roxie," he teased, an evil smirk plastered on his lips.

"I'm not worried; I thought it might be important," I said nonchalantly.

He swiped the screen before the call ringtone ended.

Did he just reject the call? Before I could even voice out my question. He extended his arms and wrapped around me again.

"Not important. This...this is important," Royce said as he sniffed my hair.

"I don't want someone to get jealous tonight."

I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head to have a clear view of his face. "Who's jealous? Dream on."

He chuckled, and before I could protest, his lips were pressed on mine.

The moment I gained my senses, I knew that I was not alone in my bed. There was a heavy thing that clung to my waist. My vision landed on Royce's lips. They looked soft, a pair of rosy lips an inch away from me. I swallowed a lump in my throat at the thought of them pressing on my lips.

I find myself closing my eyes again; in my head was the flashback of our first night together in Palawan. We were lousy kissers at first and then became wild when we found our pace. I was drunk, but everything had sunk in after seeing him emerge from the bathroom. The picture of his half-naked body aroused me.

"Hey?" His voice barely reached my ears, eyes half-closed.

NO. I was a millisecond late to jump out of bed.

"Good morning, baby," Royce greeted as he took off the sheet below his abdomen, revealing his six-pack abs.

I've seen it before, but I couldn't help but admire how beautiful his body was. Discipline, he was very disciplined. He hasn't touched me yet, but his presence sent warmth to my core. He winked at me when I looked back up at his face. It appeared he was trying to tease me. I blushed. He caught me staring at his ABS. Whatever, he's my boyfriend.

"Do you think you're so cute?" I said nonchalantly as I rolled my eyes.

He chuckled at my words. "Without a doubt." He answered as he wiggled his eyebrow.

I shook my head of his arrogance as I took off the sheet from my waist and refused to be smitten by his charm. But he was quick to grab my wrist.

"Baby, please, it's still time for cuddles. Too early to jump out of bed," Royce mimics like a child, begging for his toys.

I glared at him. Jesus, how could someone be this hot early in the morning? Wearing a sleeveless shirt and hasn't taken a bath nor combed his hair, not even brushed his teeth. How could I refuse this hottie? Of course, I can. My rational thinking popped up.

"Hey"

I was cut out of my reverie when he pulled me, my back on his hard chest. He wrapped his arms around me as tight as possible, leaving me no chance to escape.

"Royce?" He replied with just a moan.

"Let go; it's too tight," I whined as I tried to push his arms to loosen his embrace.

"You'll get away if I loosen my arms. I know you, Nelly."

"I won't, please," I pretended to beg. Turns out my acting skill wasn't convincing enough. Royce ignored it; instead...

"Why don't you give me some love, baby?" Royce said as he swiveled me to face him.

Royce playfully pinched my cheek, his other hand on my waist. Still refused to let go of me. His touch sent warmth to my face, slowly running down to my whole body. I was aroused by his gentle touch. Our eyes locked; he stopped pinching my cheek and trailed the back of his finger on my cheek instead.

It took me a few seconds before an idea popped into my head. I used the opportunity to kick him with my knee, which accidentally hit the hardened spot between his legs. My eyes widened to the realization that I had hit his organ.

I slapped my hand on my mouth, watching Royce, his hands in between his legs. He rubbed his hands up and down, probably massaging his organ. I panicked; I froze and was muted for seconds.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit your..." I couldn't find the right word to say.

"My what?" His question came as a surprise to me. His voice was soft, with no trace of pain and anger. He plastered an evil smirk on his lips, his eyebrows wiggled.

Oh boy. This idiot got me. It was too late to escape as he pulled me back into his arms. Royce exchanged positions with me; my back was on the bed, his legs were labeled between my hips. He pinned my hands above my head. I didn't have a chance to protest. My heart was racing in my chest; I wondered if his heartbeat sped up the same.

"Now, payback time," Royce said, maintaining his wicked grin.

This idiot. What's his evil plan in mind?