The Royal Contract

But she still found it enchanting as his arms wrapped around her body, protecting her from the slightly cold breeze. “What did you think of Tony?” He suddenly asked out of the blue. Suddenly, her mind returned to the earlier events, recalling what had happened that afternoon.

Amelia had woken up later than usual, feeling a little bit sore. Or maybe just a bit more. However, she was not surprised to wake alone in bed this time, seeing the time on the clock. She could not believe it was already way past lunch.

Nonetheless, she was not anxious not to see him immediately. She trusted that he would not make the same mistake he did before. After all, she could not expect him to lie all day beside her, waiting for her to open her eyes.

She could only guess that he had better things to do with his time. “Evan!” She called his name, just loud enough for her voice to reach the next room. But he did not respond. She guessed he was not in the bathroom.

She swiftly rolled out of bed, grabbed a clean shirt and shorts, neatly placed on the bottom of the bed, and wore them. She supposed Evan had prepared those clothes for her.

Still, she wondered where he was, so she opted to explore his place and walked barefoot down the steps toward the bottom floor. The apartment seemed empty, sensing no movement in the room.

.....

“Evan,” Amelia tried again, hoping this time he might hear her. But she still received zero responses.

She continued her exploration of his apartment, not worried that he might have left. Of course, if he did, he had no choice but to return. It was his apartment. He had to come home at some time.

Her eyes caught the frame that was in the living room. It was several photo frames of Evan with Angela. There were also some of what seemed to be his younger self with two young couples. Those would be his parents, she presumed.

Then, a movement caught her attention. “Evan?” She asked, hoping he was back from wherever he had gone, but he still did not answer.

On the contrary, something else responded to her call as a big, black furry beast attacked her from her left side. At least she did not see it coming since it happened so fast.

She stumbled back and landed on her ass, caught off guard. She was momentarily shocked, but before she could shout for help, she realized she had nothing to worry about since it was a harmless, sweet dog.

“You scared me.” She chastised the adorable beast. It was big but cuddly as its tongue started licking her on the face. She grabbed the dog by its collar and started petting him, rubbing it on its cheeks and head.

“Tony?” What an odd name! She thought as she checked his tag, learning that the dog was a male. “Well, Tony, I am Amelia.” She introduced herself to the friendly canine. “By the way, where is your owner?” She asked, still not seeing the man in question anywhere.

Wait a minute!

She did not remember seeing him last night when they were, but she could not finish her thought, remembering all the things she did with him in this room besides the kitchen.

Now, she could feel her face burning from embarrassment. As if the dog could sense she had been naughty all night and until the wee hours of the morning.

“Why don’t you accompany me to the kitchen?” She could feel that her stomach was starting to protest. After all her activities last night, she could not blame if her stomach demanded replenishment.

Once in the kitchen with Tony following behind, she found the table set with assorted food. When she came closer to the table, she finally saw a note underneath a single pink rose.

Of course, that reminded her again of what she wore last night. Now, she was curious as to where her clothes were. It was not in the room, nor here laying on the kitchen floor where she had left it.

I AM AT MY OFFICE. GET ME ONCE YOU WAKE UP.

It was what the note said. Did Evan mean his workplace? Did he want her to go back to his office? It made sense since she snatched him from his obligation yesterday.

She sat down on the chair, feeling disappointed that he was not there while she was alone. It would have been nice if they could share all this delicious food before her.

“I guess it is just the two of us.” She mumbled to her only companion. However, Tony suddenly jumped up and ran in a hurry.

Then, “I thought I said to get me once you are up. I hope you have not started without me.” The man she had been looking for stood at the doorway, with the dog jumping beside him.

“I thought you were in the office.” She was slightly startled, not expecting that he would suddenly show up, convinced that he had left.

“Yes, at the end of that hall. I guess I still need to orient you about every room in this place.” Evan pointed to a hallway just on the left of the kitchen.

“But I called your name several times. But you did not respond.” She stated, but she remembered that her voice might not be that loud to reach the other rooms.

“I must be on the phone, so I did not notice. Anyway, shall we eat? I am starving.” Evan helped her back to her seat and sat right next to her. “I am sorry if I was away for a while. I knew I promised not to work, but it was an emergency.”

“No, that is ok. I am also sorry if I overslept. I don’t usually do that...” But she did not get the chance to finish as he planted a soft kiss on her lips.

She had no objection to that as she savored the feeling of being near him again. She believed she could get used to his kisses or even be addicted to them. But she did not want them to end.

“That is ok.” He answered her when he reluctantly pulled away from her lips. “I wanted to do that since I woke up, but you looked so exhausted from last night. I did not want to wake you up.”

It was his main reason for going to his office. The only reason he had picked up his phone and had answered a call.

“So, I had to get out of bed and distract myself with work.” He added, expecting she would be disappointed with him.

Instead, he saw how her eyes lit up with desire while her cheeks and nose turned pink with embarrassment. She looked so adorable that all he wanted to do was cradle her in his arms.

She appeared like a pure, naive, trusting angel that could do no wrong, but underneath all her innocence was a temptress wanting to break free.

But was that enough for him to make this a lasting relationship, or would he want something more?