--: Keifer's POV: --
The aftermath of the storm was... quiet. Too quiet.
I stayed pinned to the headboard, my chest still heaving slightly as the adrenaline slowly ebbed away, replaced by a deep, heavy warmth. Jay-Jay was still draped over me, her forehead resting against my collarbone, her breathing finally evening out into a soft, rhythmic puff of air against my skin.
I didn't want to move. I wanted to stay in this silver-and-gold morning forever, but the clock on the nightstand was a heartless bastard. It ticked over to 9:30 AM.
"Jay?" I rasped, my hand smoothing over the dip of her waist.
"Mmm?"
"The vultures are going to start circling soon," I murmured, a tired smirk tugging at my lips. "If we aren't at that breakfast table eventually, MJ is going to start a search party, and Aries will probably bring a medical kit and a crowbar. But... let them wait. I think we need to be clean before we face the chaos."
--: Jay-Jay's POV: --
I giggled, the sound vibrating against his chest. "You're right," I sighed, reluctantly pushing myself up. "I should probably find my clothes. Or at least a towel, and go to shower."
I made a move to slide off him, but my feet hadn't even touched the floorboards before Keifer's arms tightened like iron bands around my waist. In one smooth, gravity-defying motion, he surged off the bed, taking me with him.
"Whoa! Keifer!" I shrieked, my hands flying up to grip his neck as I dangled in the air. "What are you doing? I can walk!"
"I like my way better," he grunted, his eyes glinting with a mischievous, post-adrenaline spark. He didn't head for the closet. He headed straight for the en-suite bathroom.
--: Keifer's POV: --
I kicked the bathroom door open and set her down on the marble vanity, though I didn't let her go. I reached over and twisted the heavy brass handles of the oversized clawfoot tub. The roar of warm water filling the basin echoed off the tiles, immediately steaming up the mirrors.
Jay-Jay was staring at me, her eyes wide, her face turning a shade of red that rivaled the tropical sunset.
"Why are you staring, baby?" I leaned in close, bracing my hands on either side of her hips so she was trapped between me and the mirror. "Is there something on my face, or are you just admiring the view?"
SMACK.
She hit me right in the center of my chest. It didn't hurt, but the indignation in her eyes was priceless.
"You're a menace," she huffed, though she didn't look away. "Why did you bring me in here? I thought we were getting ready to leave."
"We are," I said, my voice dropping into a low, playful drawl. I reached out and flicked a stray lock of hair away from her face. "But I'm not here to just put you in the tub and walk away. I'm here to take a bath with you. Efficiency, Jay. It saves time and water too."
--: Jay-Jay's POV: --
"Efficiency? You—you—" I sputtered, my brain short-circuiting.
He didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed. Instead, he started testing the water temperature, his movements casual as if he weren't standing there completely bare. The steam was curling around his shoulders, making him look like some sort of ancient, dangerous god.
"Why are you blushing so hard?" he teased, glancing over his shoulder with a devastating smirk. "It's not like you haven't seen every single inch of me at this point. Multiple times. In detail."
"Keifer!" I covered my face with my hands, but I could feel the heat radiating off my skin.
"What?? I'm not lying. You were the one asking me to do it faster a while ago."
"Youu..you"
But he didn't let me complete he just leaned down and gave me a quick peck on my lips and said "You look cute when you blush."
I narrowed my eyes at him. A wicked idea began to form in the back of my mind. If he wanted to play the "cool and teasing" boyfriend, two could play that game. He thinks he can just fluster me and get away with it? Fine. Let's see how he handles being invisible.
--: Keifer's POV: --
I stepped into the tub first, the warm water swirling around my knees. I reached out a hand to help her in.
"Come on, the water's perfect," I said, offering my best 'charming' smile.
Jay-Jay took my hand, but her expression had shifted. The blush was still there, but her eyes were... blank. She stepped into the water and sat down. Instead of sitting across from me, she moved so her back was against my chest, settling right between my legs.
The contact was immediate and intense. Her soft skin against my bare torso made my breath hitch. I could feel her curves perfectly, and she was sitting directly against... well, the "reindeer" was making itself very known.
"Comfortable?" I whispered, wrapping my arms around her waist.
Silence.
She didn't even lean back. She reached for the sponge and started scrubbing her arm with the focus of a surgeon.
"Jay?"
Nothing. She didn't even blink. She reached for the soap, humming a tiny, tuneless song to herself as if I were a piece of the bathroom furniture.
"Babyyy!!"
--: Jay-Jay's POV: --
Stay strong, Jay. Don't look at him. He hates being ignored more than anything. He wants to tease? He can tease the bubbles.
I could feel his heart thudding against my back. He was warm, solid, and very much naked. I knew exactly what I was doing to him. It was a struggle to keep my face neutral, especially when I felt his hands slide up to my ribs, his thumbs tracing the underside of my breasts through the suds.
I poured a generous amount of bubble bath into the water, creating a mountain of white foam between us. I picked up a handful of suds and started making a beard for myself, still refusing to acknowledge his existence.
"Jay-Jay. Seriously?" Keifer's voice was lower now, a hint of confusion creeping in.
I reached out, grabbed his loofah, and pulled it to my side of the tub. I didn't say thank you. I didn't look at him. I just kept humming.
--: Keifer's POV: --
This was becoming a problem. I'm used to her fighting back, arguing, or blushing—not treating me like I'm made of glass.
"Okay, I see how it is," I muttered.
I didn't just let her sit there. I grabbed her by the waist and, with a splash of water and bubbles, I forced her to turn around in my lap. Now, she was sitting straddling me, her legs wrapped around my waist, her front pressed against mine. Our faces were inches apart.
"Look at me, Jay," I growled playfully, my hands sliding down to her hips to keep her anchored.
She looked... through me. She focused on a spot just above my left ear. She reached up and calmly placed a mound of bubbles directly on top of my head, forming a ridiculous soapy crown.
"Jay, I'm being serious. You can't ignore me when you're sitting on me like this," I rasped. I leaned in, my lips ghosting over her jawline. I started to tickle the sensitive skin of her waist, knowing that usually broke her in seconds.
She didn't move. She didn't giggle. She just let out a long, bored-sounding sigh and began to play with the bubbles on her own shoulder.
--: Jay-Jay's POV: --
The tickling was torture. Every fiber of my being wanted to shriek and squirm, but I clamped my jaw shut. I focused all my energy on the wall. He was trying everything—his "gravelly voice," his hands, his proximity—but I wasn't budging.
He was getting desperate. I could feel the tension in his muscles, the way his grip on my hips tightened. My plan was working, I'm just pranking on him and pretending to ignore him. But it's hard for me too.
Suddenly, his hand moved under the water, his fingers grazing the sensitive skin of my inner thigh.
You're going to have to do better than that, Keifer Watson, I thought triumphantly, though my heart was hammering a mile a minute.
--: Keifer's POV: --
If she wanted a stand-off, she was going to get one. I shifted her slightly, my hand diving beneath the surface of the suds. I found her center, my finger sliding slowly, purposefully against her.
I watched her face like a hawk. I saw her pupils dilate. I saw the tiny, microscopic tremor in her lower lip.
"Still nothing?" I whispered.
The playfulness died out of my voice, replaced by something dark, raw, and dangerous. I leaned in, my lips inches from hers, but I didn't touch them yet. I wanted her to beg.
I moved my hand beneath the water, my thumb finding her with a precision that made her back arch instantly. Her breath hitched, a sharp, broken sound that echoed off the marble walls. I began a slow, agonizing rhythm, watching her eyes struggle to stay focused on the wall behind me.
"Tell me to stop, Jay-Jay," I rasped, my teeth grazing the sensitive skin of her neck. "Tell me you don't feel this. Tell me I'm still invisible."
I let my other hand trail up her spine, tracing every vertebra until I reached the nape of her neck, tangling my fingers in her damp hair. I pulled her head back slightly, forcing her to look up at me.
"Speak," I commanded.
--: Jay-Jay's POV: --
The world was spinning. The heat of the water, the steam filling my lungs, and the electric touch of his hand beneath the surface were colliding in a way that made my brain melt. I wanted to scream. I wanted to tell him he won.
But I looked at the lopsided bubble mohawk on his head. I looked at the sheer, desperate intensity in his dark eyes—the way he was looking at me like I was the only thing in the universe.
I swallowed hard. My lower lip was trembling so violently I had to bite it.
I reached up, my hand trembling, and picked up a handful of bubbles. With slow, deliberate movements, I placed a tiny "moustache" of foam on his upper lip.
I didn't say a word. I just stared at the moustache.
--: Keifer's POV: --
The moustache was the final straw.
I let out a growl that was half-frustration and half-worship. I didn't care about the bubbles anymore. I didn't care about the "game." My control snapped like a dry twig.
I crashed my lips onto hers.
This wasn't the gentle, teasing kiss. This was a collision. I tasted the salt of her skin and the sweetness of the soap, my tongue demanding entry as I swallowed her gasp. My hand moved faster beneath the water, driven by the frantic pulse I felt in her neck.
I pulled her closer, if that was even possible, until our hearts were slamming against each other in the same rhythm. I could feel the vibration of her muffled moans against my lips, a sound that drove me absolutely insane.
"Jay..." I groaned into her mouth, my grip on her hips tightening until my knuckles were white. "Say it. Say my name."
I trailed my kisses down her throat, biting gently at the spot where her shoulder met her neck, leaving a mark I knew would last for days. I wanted everyone to know who she belonged to. I wanted her to know.
I lifted her slightly, the water splashing over the sides of the tub, and settled her more firmly against me. The friction was unbearable.
"Keifer..."
The word was a broken, airy thread, barely audible over the sound of the running water.
--: Jay-Jay's POV: --
I couldn't help it. The moment his lips hit that spot on my neck, the dam broke. My name for him spilled out before I could stop it, a desperate, shaking plea.
"Keifer... please..."
I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down, burying my face in his soapy shoulder. The game was over. He had won, and I didn't even care. The pleasure was a tidal wave now, crashing over me in time with the movements of his hand.
I felt his laughter—a deep, vibrating rumble against my chest.
"There she is," he whispered, his voice thick with triumph and heat.
He didn't stop. He turned the intensity up, his kisses becoming more frequent, more demanding. He explored every inch of my face, my neck, my shoulders, his hands never staying still. Every touch felt like a brand, a permanent reminder of the way he looked at me in the steam-filled room.
I was lost in him. The bubbles, the lopsided mohawk—it was all just background noise to the way he made me feel.
--: Keifer's POV: --
She was glowing. The steam had turned her skin into polished silk, and the way she was looking at me now—with that raw, unfiltered need—was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
I slowed down, not because I wanted to, but because I wanted to savor the moment. I watched the way her eyes fluttered, the way her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath.
"You win," I whispered, my forehead resting against hers. "You're the most terrifying, stubborn, incredible girl I've ever met. And I'm completely at your mercy."
I reached out and gently wiped the bubbles from her forehead.
"Thirty-two minutes, Jay? Really?"
"Thirty-two and a half," she corrected, a small, sleepy smile finally tugging at her lips. She reached up and flicked the lopsided mohawk on my head. "And for the record, the moustache really suited you."
I laughed, the sound echoing off the tiles, a deep and genuine sound that felt like it was healing all the jagged edges of the day before.
We stayed in the water until it started to cool, the silence now comfortable and heavy with affection. I washed her hair, my fingers massaging her scalp with a gentleness that made her eyes close in bliss. I took my time, enjoying the way she leaned into my touch, the way she trusted me.
When we finally stood up to leave, the bathroom was a disaster. Water was everywhere, suds were sliding down the mirrors.
I wrapped her in the biggest, fluffiest towel we had, essentially turning her into a Jay-Jay burrito.
"No more silent treatment?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I dried her hair.
She looked up at me, her eyes dancing with mischief. "I don't know, Keifer. Your 'begging' voice is actually pretty cute. I might have to bring it back for the boat trip."
"Don't you dare," I warned, but I was already leaning in for another kiss.
We didn't rush. We didn't care about the time. On this island, in this moment, the only thing that mattered was the steam, the soap, and the girl in my arms.