KEIFER'S POV:
The first thing I register is the warmth.
For seven years, my bed has been a cold, cavernous wasteland of expensive linens and loneliness.
But this morning, there is a weight against my chest, a soft, rhythmic breathing that syncs with my own, and the scent of vanilla and rain clinging to the skin of the woman curled into my side.
I don't open my eyes immediately. I can't. Because if I do, there's a terrifying possibility that my mind has finally snapped and created a hallucination so perfect that I'll never want to wake up from it.
I shift slightly, feeling the slide of her bare leg over mine, the friction of her skin sending a slow, humming spark of electricity through my veins.
Then, I feel her stir. A small, sleepy moan escapes her lips, and she nuzzles closer, her forehead pressing into the hollow of my shoulder.
I open my eyes.
Jay.
My Jay Jay...
She's right here. Her hair is a chaotic halo of dark silk across my white pillows, her lips slightly swollen from the way I've spent the last several hours devouring her. She looks soft. Vulnerable. Utterly mine.
A surge of protectiveness hits me so hard it actually hurts. I tighten my grip on her waist, pulling her flush against me, needing to feel every single curve of her body to convince myself she's real.
I actually did it.
I've spent over two thousand days imagining this exact moment. I've replayed the "what ifs" until they became a torture chamber of my own making. I've lived in a state of perpetual mourning for a woman who was still alive, simply because I was too arrogant to believe I deserved her forgiveness.
I watch her eyelids flutter, then slowly open. Her eyes are hazy with sleep, blinking up at me with a confused, dreamy expression that makes my heart hammer against my ribs like a trapped bird.
Then, the memories of last night flood back to her.
A small, shy smile touches her lips, and she lets out a soft, contented sigh. "Good morning," she whispers, her voice raspy and low.
The sound of it nearly destroys me.
"Good morning, love," I rasp back, my voice sounding like I've swallowed glass.
I lean down, brushing my lips against her forehead, then her temple, then the tip of her nose.
I want to memorize every single inch of her face again. I want to map out the geography of her skin until I can find my way to her in total darkness.
"You're staring," she murmurs, though she doesn't pull away. Instead, she reaches up, her fingers tracing the line of my jaw, her touch light as a feather but feeling like a brand on my skin.
"I'm allowed to stare," I mutter, my voice dropping an octave. "I've had a seven-year deficit of looking at you. I'm making up for lost time."
She chuckles, a light, melodic sound that fills the room, and suddenly the air between us shifts. The tenderness is still there, but the heat from last night hasn't fully dissipated.
As she moves, her chest brushes against mine, and I feel that familiar, dangerous pull in my gut.
I slide my hand down from her waist, my palm skimming over the curve of her hip before settling on the small of her back, arching her into me. I can feel her heartbeat accelerating against my chest, mirroring my own.
"Keifer..." she breathes, a warning and an invitation all in one.
"I can't help it,Jay" I growl, shifting my body to hover over her, pinning her gently into the mattress.
I look down at her—the woman who broke me and put me back together without even trying—and I feel a level of devotion that borders on insanity.
"I woke up and realized you were still here, and my first instinct was to make sure you never leave this bed today."
Jay reaches up, wrapping her arms around my neck, pulling me down until our lips are inches apart.
"Is that so? And how do you plan on ensuring that, Mr. Watson?"
I smirk, the predatory glint returning to my eyes as I kiss the corner of her mouth.
"I think I can come up with a few... highly detailed legal arguments for why you should stay right here."
"You're such a menace," she whispers, but she's already pulling me down to close the gap.
As our lips meet, I realize that for the first time in seven years, the noise in my head has finally gone silent.
There is no guilt, no regret, no ghost of the man I used to be. There is only Jay.
And God help anyone who tries to take her away from me again.
THIRD PERSON'S POV:
The peace of the morning was shattered by a loud, jarring ringtone that sliced through the silence of the bedroom.
Keifer groaned, the sound vibrating against Jay's skin as he shifted. He reached over to the nightstand and glanced at the screen. His expression immediately shifted from sleepy adoration to a smirk of genuine amusement.
"It's the boys," he muttered, his voice still gravelly. "A group call. Probably wondering if I've finally succumbed to my madness."
The second Jay heard the word 'boys', her brain went into full corporate-crisis mode. Section E... the entire chaotic ensemble of Keifer's inner circle.
The men who had seen her as the "lost love," the "tragic ex," and the "woman Keifer would probably burn a city for."
The last thing she wanted was to be the topic of a fifteen-man group debrief while she was currently half-merged with him.
"Oh my God," Jay gasped, her eyes widening. "Do not answer that."
"Why not?" Keifer teased, already sliding his thumb toward the 'accept' button.
"Because I am not ready for the commentary!"
In a sudden, frantic burst of adrenaline, Jay scrambled. She practically launched herself to the other side of the bed, her movements a blur of panic.
In her haste, she didn't just move—she gripped the duvet with a death-grip and yanked it with her, dragging the entire blanket across the mattress in one violent sweep.
The result was immediate: Keifer was left completely exposed, his naked, muscular frame revealed to the cool morning air, staring at her with an expression of utter bewilderment and apparently.... standing....
Jay didn't look back. She didn't even care that she was stark naked herself; she just clutched the blanket to her chest like a shield and bolted toward the bathroom, her face flaming a bright, vivid crimson.
"Wait—Jay!" Keifer called out, but he was interrupted by the loud, overlapping voices erupting from the phone.
"KEIFER! YOU BASTARD!" David's voice roared through the speaker.
"Did you actually do it? Did you get her?" Cin shouted.
"He's probably still staring at a picture of her and crying," Rory joked in the background.
Jay slammed the bathroom door shut and locked it just as the cacophony of fifteen men reached a crescendo.
She leaned against the door, chest heaving, her heart drumming against her ribs. She felt like a teenager again, caught in a scandal.
She quickly stepped into the shower, turning the water on high. The warm spray hit her skin, helping to wash away the lingering heat of their night together and the sheer embarrassment of her narrow escape.
She closed her eyes, letting the water drown out the distant sound of Keifer laughing at his friends' antics in the other room.
She stood there for a few minutes, leaning her head against the tiles, finally starting to relax.
Until she felt it.
The sudden, shocking sensation of warm, wet skin pressing against her back.
Jay let out a small, startled shriek as two powerful arms wrapped around her waist from behind, pulling her flush against a hard, steaming chest.
The surprise was so sudden she nearly slipped on the soapy floor, but Keifer's grip was an anchor, locking her securely against him.
"You think a locked door can stop me?" Keifer whispered into her ear, his voice dark and playful.
He had clearly bypassed the lock or simply decided it didn't apply to him. He was completely naked, the water cascading over his broad shoulders and down his spine, creating a shimmering curtain of steam around them.
He pressed his face into the crook of her neck, his lips grazing her skin with a possessive hunger that told her he hadn't forgotten about the "legal arguments" he wanted to present.
"The boys are still on the phone, Keifer!" Jay gasped, though she was already leaning back into him, her body betraying her by melting into his embrace.
"Let them wait," he growled, his hands sliding down from her waist to grip her hips, lifting her slightly so she was pinned between the shower wall and his body.
"I have a much more important appointment right here."