Page 14
Story: His Ring, Her Rules
“Do you have some medicine?”
“I sent Jona to buy them; he…must be coming…”
He hummed in return, and the next thing I knew, he was lifting me up in his arms (bridal style).
“What are you doing?!” I managed to yell at him since I was taken aback by his actions.
He didn’t say anything but instead led me to his office and gently placed me on the couch there.
I observed him in surprise as he approached his desk and rummaged through a drawer before pulling out a heating belt.
He plugged it near the sofa and then wrapped the belt around my abdomen.
His acts warmed my heart. Maybe he doesn’t say anything or appears frigid, yet deep down…he cares…maybe.
“It will help ease the pain,” he eventually said, standing near the couch, peering down at me from above.
“How do you know it helps relieve pain?” was a reasonable question.
His lips curved up in a faint smile, one that did not convey that it was pleasant.
“You are not the only woman I have ever been with.”
We just heard Jona’s voice coming from my office: “Vivian?”
Jaxon stepped through the door, and they both entered a few seconds later.
Jona brought me a glass of water, took out a pill, and helped me stand up before I consumed the medication.
Jaxon stood there, inspecting everything with his hands in his pocket.
After making me ingest the medicine and helping me lay down again, Jona was about to leave the room when Jaxon remarked to him, “Jonah, you may now call me Jaxon.”
Jona stared at him, then at me, and I gave him a slight shrug.
Before leaving the room, he said “Okay” gently.
“What was that?” I questioned Jaxon when Jona left the room.
He moved up to his desk and leaned against it, facing me.
“He is your best friend, and I am your husband, which makes him my friend too, and friends don’t address each other so formally,” he clarified.
“I thought you don’t like making lots of friends.”
“It depends,” he shrugged before sitting in his chair and immersing himself in his job.
“What am I supposed to do now? Just lay here?”
He arched his brow, “Am I supposed to entertain you?”
I pouted my lips and folded my arms, “You should be nice to me; I am on my period! And if I lose my temper, you have no idea what I will do because my mood swings are the worst.”
There was laughter in his eyes, which swiftly faded: “I am working; entertain yourself.”
I groaned to myself when I noticed him immersing himself in a file.
I observed him peruse the file before picking up a piece of paper and starting to write something.
He’d already taken off his coat, so he was wearing a simple white shirt with his sleeves rolled up, and when he wrote, the muscles bulged out. I could not help but gaze at him. He wrinkled his brow in perplexity, and then his expression relaxed once he saw what was written there.
His gorgeous jawline made me want to run my fingers across it so strongly, and being on my period didn’t help matters.
“When I said entertain yourself, I didn’t ask you to drool at me,” he stated abruptly, his gaze fixed on the laptop screen.
My cheeks flushed hot when he saw me drooling at him.
“I wasn’t drooling,” I snapped.
“Of course you will say that, but I know I am very handsome,” he said cockily.
May I hit him?
I laughed: “You know what, I am beautiful too, and I can make you drool at me too.”
Was it presumptuous of me to declare myself beautiful?
He tilted his head at me and said, “Are you challenging me?”
For a brief time, I wondered what could be more hazardous than challenging Jaxon Dante.
“Maybe.”
He restarted typing on his laptop, “Let’s see… who’s gonna win.”
“I thought you wouldn’t waste your so-called precious time on some stupid challenge.”
“A challenge is a challenge. And I like challenges ’cause I love to win.”
Why doesn’t someone instill some humility in him? Oh, yes, they wouldn’t want to die.
“One day, Jaxon Dante,” I stated in a demanding tone, “I will make you drool at me, and you will admit it.”
With his gaze fixed on the laptop, he smirked and said, “I am looking forward to that day.”
Then there was stillness, but for the sound the keyboard made as he wrote, and I glanced at the ceiling.
I lay there motionless while my pain appeared to gradually subside; at least it was manageable now.
After a few minutes of passively looking at the ceiling, I returned my focus to Jaxon.
He had a seductive grimace on his face, pinched his brow as he peered at the TV, and then folded his arms over his chest, causing his muscles to protrude out further. OK, I realize I’ve been using the term ‘bulge’ a lot, but what can I do when I have a Greek God sitting in front of me with such strong muscles, and God knows how many packs he has?
He gently moved his head as if to relieve the agony in his neck. Then he lifted his arms over his head and began to slowly lower them.
“Stop flexing,” I yelled, causing his hands to freeze in midair.
“Is it bothering you?” he enquired, lowering his hands.
Yes.
“No.”
“Then?”
“I don’t…like it.”
He extended his arms again and placed them at the back of his head, and my gaze followed his every action.
“I have a solution for it,” he continued, leaning back and keeping his gaze on me. “Stop staring. Simple.”
Again. Once again, he has made me feel so ashamed.
Well done, Vivian. Well done.
A blush crept up my neck, and my cheeks and ears turned crimson again.
“If you really have been with someone before and you know what will help a girl who is having cramps, then that girl must have also taught you how to talk to a girl who is on her period.”
To be honest, he said nothing offensive, which was really pathetic of me to say, but my mood swings…I can’t do anything.
Something appeared to have snapped in him, for the fun expression on his face had vanished as he narrowed his eyes at me. He stared at me for a bit, then glanced away, closed his eyes briefly, and I watched him gasp as his Adam’s apple went up and down before returning to work.
What the hell just happened?!
Did I say something offensive? I do not think so.
“Jaxon?”
“I’m busy,” was the quick, chilly response.
He was not busy two minutes ago.
When he mentioned that woman, did he mean Julia? Is that why he suddenly changed?
What the heck did I do? I mentally face-palmed myself.
Whoever she was, she was important to him, and he had lost her. Therefore, I reminded him of her.
A minute later, he rose, pulled out a cigarette and a lighter, and quietly exited the room.
I’m not sure of anything else because I fell asleep.
I awoke with a blanket wrapped over me and curled up in a ball.
Stretching my body, I gently sat up; my cramps were gone. Sitting up, I noticed Jaxon had already packed up.
“We’re leaving; Jonah has already packed your belongings, and they’re in the car,” he remarked, seeing me awake.
I nodded gently in return.
He picked up his laptop and moved by me, but as he approached the door, his back was turned to me, and I noticed him sigh heavily.
He turned around and returned to where I was seated.
“You OK now?”
“Yes, thank you.”
He extended his hand to me to take, and I stared up at him, then at his hand, before eventually placing my hand in his and getting up.
As soon as I stood up, he released my hand and walked towards the door, with me following behind him.
It was Friday evening when I finished my work and began collecting my belongings.
Jaxon informed me that he would be late, so I went home alone till Kena called and asked me to his place to play Red Dead Redemption 2.
I enthusiastically agreed and arrived at his apartment at seven p.m. without telling Jaxon.
“Take cover, Kena! More O’Driscolls are on their way!” I cried to Kena as he battled the O’Driscolls, and I just sat there and watched him play because I didn’t know how to fight. I mean, I’ve never been able to kill someone properly in that game, but Kena was an expert at it.
“I sent Jona to buy them; he…must be coming…”
He hummed in return, and the next thing I knew, he was lifting me up in his arms (bridal style).
“What are you doing?!” I managed to yell at him since I was taken aback by his actions.
He didn’t say anything but instead led me to his office and gently placed me on the couch there.
I observed him in surprise as he approached his desk and rummaged through a drawer before pulling out a heating belt.
He plugged it near the sofa and then wrapped the belt around my abdomen.
His acts warmed my heart. Maybe he doesn’t say anything or appears frigid, yet deep down…he cares…maybe.
“It will help ease the pain,” he eventually said, standing near the couch, peering down at me from above.
“How do you know it helps relieve pain?” was a reasonable question.
His lips curved up in a faint smile, one that did not convey that it was pleasant.
“You are not the only woman I have ever been with.”
We just heard Jona’s voice coming from my office: “Vivian?”
Jaxon stepped through the door, and they both entered a few seconds later.
Jona brought me a glass of water, took out a pill, and helped me stand up before I consumed the medication.
Jaxon stood there, inspecting everything with his hands in his pocket.
After making me ingest the medicine and helping me lay down again, Jona was about to leave the room when Jaxon remarked to him, “Jonah, you may now call me Jaxon.”
Jona stared at him, then at me, and I gave him a slight shrug.
Before leaving the room, he said “Okay” gently.
“What was that?” I questioned Jaxon when Jona left the room.
He moved up to his desk and leaned against it, facing me.
“He is your best friend, and I am your husband, which makes him my friend too, and friends don’t address each other so formally,” he clarified.
“I thought you don’t like making lots of friends.”
“It depends,” he shrugged before sitting in his chair and immersing himself in his job.
“What am I supposed to do now? Just lay here?”
He arched his brow, “Am I supposed to entertain you?”
I pouted my lips and folded my arms, “You should be nice to me; I am on my period! And if I lose my temper, you have no idea what I will do because my mood swings are the worst.”
There was laughter in his eyes, which swiftly faded: “I am working; entertain yourself.”
I groaned to myself when I noticed him immersing himself in a file.
I observed him peruse the file before picking up a piece of paper and starting to write something.
He’d already taken off his coat, so he was wearing a simple white shirt with his sleeves rolled up, and when he wrote, the muscles bulged out. I could not help but gaze at him. He wrinkled his brow in perplexity, and then his expression relaxed once he saw what was written there.
His gorgeous jawline made me want to run my fingers across it so strongly, and being on my period didn’t help matters.
“When I said entertain yourself, I didn’t ask you to drool at me,” he stated abruptly, his gaze fixed on the laptop screen.
My cheeks flushed hot when he saw me drooling at him.
“I wasn’t drooling,” I snapped.
“Of course you will say that, but I know I am very handsome,” he said cockily.
May I hit him?
I laughed: “You know what, I am beautiful too, and I can make you drool at me too.”
Was it presumptuous of me to declare myself beautiful?
He tilted his head at me and said, “Are you challenging me?”
For a brief time, I wondered what could be more hazardous than challenging Jaxon Dante.
“Maybe.”
He restarted typing on his laptop, “Let’s see… who’s gonna win.”
“I thought you wouldn’t waste your so-called precious time on some stupid challenge.”
“A challenge is a challenge. And I like challenges ’cause I love to win.”
Why doesn’t someone instill some humility in him? Oh, yes, they wouldn’t want to die.
“One day, Jaxon Dante,” I stated in a demanding tone, “I will make you drool at me, and you will admit it.”
With his gaze fixed on the laptop, he smirked and said, “I am looking forward to that day.”
Then there was stillness, but for the sound the keyboard made as he wrote, and I glanced at the ceiling.
I lay there motionless while my pain appeared to gradually subside; at least it was manageable now.
After a few minutes of passively looking at the ceiling, I returned my focus to Jaxon.
He had a seductive grimace on his face, pinched his brow as he peered at the TV, and then folded his arms over his chest, causing his muscles to protrude out further. OK, I realize I’ve been using the term ‘bulge’ a lot, but what can I do when I have a Greek God sitting in front of me with such strong muscles, and God knows how many packs he has?
He gently moved his head as if to relieve the agony in his neck. Then he lifted his arms over his head and began to slowly lower them.
“Stop flexing,” I yelled, causing his hands to freeze in midair.
“Is it bothering you?” he enquired, lowering his hands.
Yes.
“No.”
“Then?”
“I don’t…like it.”
He extended his arms again and placed them at the back of his head, and my gaze followed his every action.
“I have a solution for it,” he continued, leaning back and keeping his gaze on me. “Stop staring. Simple.”
Again. Once again, he has made me feel so ashamed.
Well done, Vivian. Well done.
A blush crept up my neck, and my cheeks and ears turned crimson again.
“If you really have been with someone before and you know what will help a girl who is having cramps, then that girl must have also taught you how to talk to a girl who is on her period.”
To be honest, he said nothing offensive, which was really pathetic of me to say, but my mood swings…I can’t do anything.
Something appeared to have snapped in him, for the fun expression on his face had vanished as he narrowed his eyes at me. He stared at me for a bit, then glanced away, closed his eyes briefly, and I watched him gasp as his Adam’s apple went up and down before returning to work.
What the hell just happened?!
Did I say something offensive? I do not think so.
“Jaxon?”
“I’m busy,” was the quick, chilly response.
He was not busy two minutes ago.
When he mentioned that woman, did he mean Julia? Is that why he suddenly changed?
What the heck did I do? I mentally face-palmed myself.
Whoever she was, she was important to him, and he had lost her. Therefore, I reminded him of her.
A minute later, he rose, pulled out a cigarette and a lighter, and quietly exited the room.
I’m not sure of anything else because I fell asleep.
I awoke with a blanket wrapped over me and curled up in a ball.
Stretching my body, I gently sat up; my cramps were gone. Sitting up, I noticed Jaxon had already packed up.
“We’re leaving; Jonah has already packed your belongings, and they’re in the car,” he remarked, seeing me awake.
I nodded gently in return.
He picked up his laptop and moved by me, but as he approached the door, his back was turned to me, and I noticed him sigh heavily.
He turned around and returned to where I was seated.
“You OK now?”
“Yes, thank you.”
He extended his hand to me to take, and I stared up at him, then at his hand, before eventually placing my hand in his and getting up.
As soon as I stood up, he released my hand and walked towards the door, with me following behind him.
It was Friday evening when I finished my work and began collecting my belongings.
Jaxon informed me that he would be late, so I went home alone till Kena called and asked me to his place to play Red Dead Redemption 2.
I enthusiastically agreed and arrived at his apartment at seven p.m. without telling Jaxon.
“Take cover, Kena! More O’Driscolls are on their way!” I cried to Kena as he battled the O’Driscolls, and I just sat there and watched him play because I didn’t know how to fight. I mean, I’ve never been able to kill someone properly in that game, but Kena was an expert at it.