Keifer's POV
The drive back from the service road was silent, but it wasn't the heavy, suffocating silence from the nights before. It was thick with the afterglow of what had just happened—a raw, territorial claim that had left us both breathless and exhausted.
When I pulled the SUV into the mansion's circular driveway, the clock on the dashboard read 2:00 AM.
The house was quiet, the others having long since retreated to their rooms. I glanced at the passenger seat. Jay was out cold, her head lolling against the leather, her breathing deep and even.
The fierce, dangerous CEO who had commanded the dance floor only hours ago was gone, replaced by a woman who looked small and utterly drained.
I didn't wake her. I couldn't bring myself to. I stepped out, walked around to her side, and gathered her into my arms. She let out a tiny, sleepy mumble, tucking her face into the crook of my neck, her fingers blindly clutching at my shirt.
I carried her upstairs, my boots muffled by the thick carpets. In our room, the moonlight spilled across the unmade bed. I laid her down gently, but the sight of her in that red outfit—the one that had nearly caused a riot at the pub—made my jaw tighten.
With practiced, careful movements, I unzipped the skirt and eased the top off. I reached into the dresser and pulled out one of my oversized black t-shirts.
Changing her was like handling a porcelain doll. She was dead to the world. Once she was covered, I tucked her under the duvet.
"Sleep, Jay," I whispered, brushing a stray hair from her forehead.
I grabbed my own clothes and headed to the bathroom. I needed a cold shower to wash away the lingering adrenaline, but I settled for a quick change into grey sweatpants. My mind was still replaying the way she'd looked at me in the car—the way she'd said my name.
When I stepped back into the bedroom, I stopped dead.
Jay wasn't alone in the bed anymore. In the few minutes I was gone, she had blindly reached out and dragged a giant, round, blue-and-cream plush Snorlax into her arms.
She was hugging it with a ferocity that bordered on obsessive, her chin resting on its soft head, her legs tangled around its stuffed body.
I stood at the edge of the bed, arms crossed. My eyes narrowed.A sharp, ridiculous pang of jealousy hit my chest. I had just spent the last four hours proving she belonged to me. I had marked her skin, claimed her breath, and fought off half a pub for her.
I'm the one who carried her up the stairs. I'm the one who changed her clothes. And yet, here she was, seeking comfort from a stuffed Pokémon instead of waiting for me to get back into bed.
The Snorlax looked back at me with its smug, closed-eye expression. It looked entirely too comfortable in my spot.
Really?" I muttered to the empty room, glaring at the Snorlax's permanent, smug sleepy grin. "You think you're better than me?"
"Move over, fat boy," I muttered under my breath.
I climbed into bed, expecting her to sense my presence and shift toward me. Instead, she tightened her grip on the plushie, burying her nose into its polyester fur.
A wave of irrational, ridiculous jealousy spiked in my chest. I was the husband. I was the one who had just driven her into a frenzy. I was the one who was human.
"Jay," I whispered, tugging at the Snorlax's ear.
She didn't budge. She just made a soft, contented humming sound and squeezed the stuffed toy tighter.
That was it.
I waited until her breathing leveled out into a deep sleep. Then, with the stealth of a man trained in tactical extraction, I began the operation. I slowly, millimeter by millimeter, pried her arms away from the blue belly.
Every time she stirred, I froze, holding my breath. Finally, I managed to slide the Snorlax out from her grasp.
I scanned the room. Under the bed? No, she'd find it. The closet? Too obvious. Finally, I walked over to the window seat, opened the deep storage chest meant for winter quilts, shoved the Snorlax inside, and shut the lid.
Victory.
"Stay there," I growled at it.
Returning to the bed, I slid into the space the toy had occupied. Almost instantly, Jay's hands searched the empty space before landing on my chest. She let out a sigh, her body relaxing as she molded herself against me, her face tucking into the hollow of my neck.
Much better.
I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her flush against me. "Mine," I murmured into her hair, finally closing my eyes.
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Jay's POV
The morning sun was aggressive. It poked through the gaps in the curtains, forcing me to blink my eyes open. My body felt heavy—the good kind of heavy—but as I shifted, I realized something was wrong.
The space beside me was cold and empty. Keifer was gone.
That wasn't the problem, though. I reached out, my arm sweeping across the mattress, searching for the soft, squishy familiar form of my Snorlax. My fingers met only silk sheets.
I bolted upright, wincing slightly at the soreness in my thighs. "Snorlax?" I croaked.
I looked under the bed. Nothing. I checked the bathroom. Nothing. I checked the armchair in the corner. Empty..
My eyes narrowed as I scanned the room. There was no way that giant plushie had walked away on its own. And then I remembered Keifer's face last night when I'd hugged it—the way his lip had curled in that half-annoyed, half-possessive scowl.
"You have got to be kidding me," I hissed.
I threw on a silk robe and marched out of the room. I didn't find him in the hallway, but I heard the clatter of plates and the roar of laughter coming from downstairs.
I stopped by the utility closet near the stairs, my eyes landing on a small hand broom sitting on the shelf. I grabbed it. It was a ridiculous weapon, but it felt right for the occasion.
I descended the stairs like a woman on a mission. The entire family was in the dining hall—Jane, Kyle, Aries, Percy, Ella, Angelo, section e and others.
Keifer was sitting at the head of the table, calmly sipping a coffee and looking far too smug for a man who had committed a kidnapping.
"Keifer!" I yelled, stepping into the room and brandishing the hand broom like a sword.
The table went silent. Twenty - five pairs of eyes turned to me.
"Where is he?" I demanded.
Keifer didn't even look up from his cup. "Good morning to you too, Jay. You look... energized."
"Don't 'good morning' me! Give him back! Give me back my Snorlax right now!"
Felix choked on his orange juice. "He kidnapped the Pokémon?"
"He hid it!" I shouted, pointing the broom at Keifer. "I know you did it. You were glaring at him last night!"
Keifer finally looked at me, a slow, wicked smirk spreading across his face. "I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe he decided to hibernate somewhere else. He's a big boy."
Get back here, you Snorlax-thief!" I screamed, chasing him through the dining hall.
I lunged toward the table. Keifer, reacting with the speed of a professional athlete, vaulted over his chair and bolted toward the living room.
"Won't you give me back my Snorlax?!" I screamed, running after him.
"Never!" Keifer shouted back over his shoulder. "He was taking up my side of the bed!"
Section e and others cheering around us. Our parents came down hearing the noise along with kids and they also joined the cheering.
"Go Jay! Take his ankles out!" Keigan shouted leaning over the railing with a piece of toast.
"Run, Keifer! Don't let the jay catch you!" Yuri yelled, hyping us up like it was a championship match.
" Run Keifer", Cin shouted."Jay get him"
The chase was on. We tore through the dining hall and into the main foyer. I could hear the family erupting behind us.
"Go Jay! Get him!" Jane yelled, standing up on her chair to cheer.
"Run, Keifer! She's got the broom of doom!" Percy hyped, laughing so hard he was clutching his stomach.
We ran up the grand staircase, through the west wing, and back down through the kitchen.
"You're a CEO, Jay! Act with dignity!" Aries teased
"I don't care about dignity! I want my Snorlax!"
We burst back into the main hall where the family had gathered to watch the spectacle. Just as I was about to whack Keifer's shoulder with the broom, a tall, imposing figure stepped into our path.
My brother, Angelo, caught Keifer by the arm, stopping him in his tracks. He looked between the two of us, his face a mask of disappointment.
"Are you still a kid, Keifer?" Angelo asked, his voice booming. "Why are you running after him like a maniac, Jay?"
I stopped, panting, the broom still raised. "Kuya! But he took my Snorlax! He hid it!"
Angelo sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Stop it. Both of you. You're adults. You run international corporations. You don't have 'food wars' and you certainly don't chase each other with cleaning supplies over a stuffed animal."
I pouted, dropping the broom to my side. I felt my lower lip tremble—partly from exhaustion, mostly for dramatic effect. "But I want a new Snorlax, Kuya. Or mine back."
Angelo looked at me sternly. "No. You are a CEO. Look at yourself. You don't need toys."
The room went quiet. The "professional" lecture was setting in. But I wasn't done. A mischievous glint entered my eyes as I remembered a certain piece of paper I'd found in our old family study months ago.
"Oh, really?" I said, crossing my arms. "You want to talk about being professional and mature, Kuya?"
Angelo narrowed his eyes. "Jay, don't."
"Because if you won't get me that Snorlax," I said, raising my voice so the whole room could hear, "I will tell everyone about the love letter you wrote. The one with the hand-drawn hearts and the 'Your eyes are like the summer stars' poem."
The silence that followed was absolute.
And then, I realized exactly what I had just blurted out in front of everyone. My eyes went wide as I looked at Aries, Percy, and Keifer.
"Angelo wrote a love letter?" Aries asked, his voice dropping into a tone of pure, unadulterated delight.
"A poem?" Percy teased, a slow grin spreading across his face. "I didn't know the great Angelo was this romantic. 'Summer stars,' huh? Who was it for, Ang?"
Angelo's face didn't just turn red; it turned a shade of purple I hadn't known existed. The terrifying, stoic eldest brother looked like he was about to combust.
"You... little..." Angelo growled, his hands clenching.
"Uh oh," I whispered.
"JAY!" Angelo roared.
He lunged for me. I didn't think; I just turned and bolted. I didn't run for the stairs this time. I ran straight for Keifer.
I screamed and bolted back the way I came, diving behind Keifer and grabbing the back of his shirt. "Keifer! Save me! Save me from my demon brother!"
Keifer laughed, wrapping an arm around me to shield me from Angelo's reach, while the rest of the family roared with laughter in the background. The Snorlax was forgotten; the new hunt was on.
Keifer laughed, a deep, booming sound that filled the foyer, as he stepped in front of me to block Angelo's path. "Easy, Angelo. She's just a kid, remember?"
"I'm going to kill her!" Angelo shouted, though the corners of his mouth were twitching.
The mansion was no longer a house of shadows and secrets. It was loud, chaotic, and full of the kind of ridiculousness that only people who truly loved each other could create. And as I peeked out from behind Keifer's broad back, I knew I'd get my Snorlax back eventually.
But for now, watching my brother get teased by the boys was a much better prize.
A/n
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