I woke up with a heavy weight draped over my body in a wonderfully warm embrace. My senses were filled with the soothing scent of a familiar deep cologne, and all I wanted to do was snuggle up even further into big… firm… pecs?
My eyes immediately snapped awake when I realized that I had not been cozying up to a bunch of pillows. Rather, I was lying on Rafael’s broad chest and rubbed my cheek against his pecs like some sort of pervert.
My cheeks immediately flushed at the sight of his naked form laying underneath me. I could feel every inch of his muscles naturally flexing under my touch.
In my panic from finding him in such an ill state, I didn’t have a chance to fully appreciate his lack of a shirt until now. I was too busy replacing the towel on his forehead and trying to make something for him to eat out of the few ingredients that he kept in his apartment.
He had been asleep for the most part, letting his fever die down with rest, but he did wake up briefly last night. He wasn’t fully coherent, but it was enough to get a bowl of soup into his system. The only problem was that when he started to doze off again, he threw another semi-fit about me trying to leave him even though I was only trying to put the bowl back into the kitchen.
He ended up pulling me down into bed with him and caging me into him with his arms as he snuggled his head into the crook of my neck, burying his head under my bird’s nest of a head of hair. It was kind of like how a child would snuggle up to a giant teddy bear.
Even though he had fallen asleep soon after, his hold was so secure that I couldn’t even remove one of his arms. I was only able to slip out one of my arms after much effort to grab my phone off the side of the bed to tell Liam that I wouldn’t be able to go home for the night.
Liam wasn’t pleased with my notification at all and ended up scolding me over the phone like a parent, even though he was my five-year-old son. Eventually, he let up when I explained how Rafael had fallen ill and agreed to stay home by himself.
I didn’t like the idea of leaving him alone and often fretted about it, but he would always point out how he was less likely to run into danger by himself than with me, sadly reminding me of how he lived before I found him.
After a long phone call, he eventually hung up, and I found myself staring at Rafael’s face without much else to do. It was a tad nerve-wracking to be left alone in a dark room with a man for the first time, but I reminded myself that Rafael would never try to harm me in my sleep. He had shown me nothing but respect since we first met and had done nothing to make me doubt him otherwise.
Despite my initial wariness, I soon fell asleep in the overwhelming warmth of his arms and now found myself completely sprawled out on top of his chest.
We must’ve shifted during our sleep, but Rafael didn’t seem to be bothered by the change in position at all. He was still sleeping soundly, completely unaffected by having my entire body weight on his chest. If anything, I was being lifted up and down every rise and fall of his chest without hindering his breathing pattern in any way.
I thought about getting off of him to let him sleep more comfortably, but that thought quickly flew out the window when he nearly woke up from a slight shift in my legs.
I sighed as I stilled myself, not wanting to disturb him from his peaceful sleep while he was still recovering from his fever. At least he wasn’t burning up anymore.
My eyes trailed down his body, glancing over his sharp jawline down to his prominent collarbones. His bulging shoulders spread out almost halfway across the bed, with arms thicker than my legs resting on my lower back. Although I couldn’t see it, I could feel his abs flexing underneath every only in while and the slight divots next to his hips.
I could see why people talked about him so much in the papers. He was the epitome of success with confidence that didn’t turn into arrogance. He was closed off from the world, never releasing a single leisure picture of himself that didn’t come from an official photoshoot for his work. But that only made him all the more intriguing to the public.
He was portrayed as cold and out of the reach of normal people, but women still flocked to him. I remember hearing girls whispering to each other about him. Fantasies about what he might look like beneath his clothes or how he would treat his partner in bed.
I blushed at the memory of their crude comments. To think that I would know the answer to all their questions now when I had originally been horrified by their words.
However, I was soon pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a soft click echo into the bedroom and an unfamiliar feminine voice ring through the apartment.
“Are you still here, Rafael? I heard that you were sick, so your father and I brought some breakfast for you. You know you should learn to take better care of yourself. I can’t even remember how many times you have overworked-”
Her voice suddenly cut off as the bedroom door swung open, and her eyes landed on us. It all happened so fast that I didn’t even get a chance at least attempt to get off of Rafael before it happened.
Standing in the doorway was an older woman with shoulder-length gray hair framing her slender features. Her jaw dropped when her eyes fell onto Rafael and me, taking in our predicament. The shock was clearly displayed on her face as she shakily backed up from the doorway. “O-Oh g-god…”Then she suddenly bolted out of the bedroom with a loud slam from the door behind her.
I stared horrifyingly at the door. Was that Rafael’s mother? And I just met her for the first time while in bed with her son…
Even though I was fully clothed and nothing had happened last night, she was gone before I could clear up her misunderstanding.
Unfortunately, Rafael also started to wake up at the same time as he groggily tightened his hold on me and pulled me up to the crook of his neck. Still half-asleep, he mumbled, “Too early… Go back to sleep…”
I tried to lean away from his tight hold and pleaded, “Please wake up, Rafael.”
His eyebrows scrunched together as if he was having trouble processing my words. A strenuous moment passed before he finally spoke up again. “Not Rafael. Achilles.”
My jaw fell slack. Was that all he got out of my words? Was he still not recovered enough from his fever to be coherent? And how could he remember the nickname that slipped out of my mouth last night despite his previously dazed state?
I hastily shook his shoulder and begged, “Please let go. Your mother is here and probably thinks poorly of me now.”
He tensed up at my words and cracked an eye open questioningly. “My mother?”
I nodded furiously. “I think she came to check up on you but found us in bed together instead.”
His eyes drifted down the nonexistent gap between us, taking in the sight of his bare chest and my crinkled button-up shirt underneath the sheets. Then he looked up at me with wide eyes. “D-Danary?”
He almost instantly released his hold on me and immediately rolled away from me, bolting out of bed. “W-when did you g-get here? My head still hurts, and I can’t seem to remember much of yesterday… Fuck, p-please tell me that I didn’t force y-you to do anything.”
He frantically paced back and forth as he messily ran his fingers through his hair. He glanced up at me pleadingly, looking for answers.
My heart dropped at the realization that he didn’t remember anything from last night. I sat up and quietly replied, “I came over yesterday when I heard you had gotten sick and spent the night. Your fever was quite high, so you were barely awake for most of it. But you didn’t do anything wrong.”
He nodded understandingly and slowed his pacing. “Thank you, Danary. I know I must’ve been difficult, and I really appreciate-”
A loud crash echoed from the living alongside a high-pitched yelp.
Rafael’s eyes widened, remembering my words from earlier. “Oh god, that’s my mother… Uh…” He tiredly brushed his fingers through his hair one last time before dropping his hand with a heavy sigh.
He walked over to me and leaned down to gently cup my cheek, tenderly tilting my head up to look at him. His gaze softened once our eyes met as he leaned down to press his lips on my forehead. “Thank you for taking care of me, Jane. I’m sure you’re tired, so why don’t you refreshen up in my bathroom while I take care of my parents? I will clear everything up, so you don’t need to come out if you don’t want to. I know that it happened unexpectedly, so I don’t want to push you when you’re not ready, okay?”
I nodded meekly, unconsciously leaning into his warm touch. Even though he didn’t seem to remember our conversation from last night, he was still as caring as ever.
He pressed one last kiss on my temple before letting go and straightening back up. Right before he left, he paused momentarily at the doorway and sweetly reminded me, “You can use any of my clothes in my closet. It’s not much before hopefully, it will be better than being stuck in office clothes.”
Then, he left the room with a soft click behind him.
I knew that Rafael was already quite sweet, often littering me with small tokens of affection every day, but the hidden side of Rafael that I met last night was nothing like what I would have ever expected. It was like a mix of puppy-like affection with a child’s temperament, but I only found it all that more adorable.
Not that I didn’t like the normal Rafael, but I was a bit saddened to see him return to his usual polite and princely mannerism after regaining his bearings. Maybe it was because I felt a tad special from seeing a side of him that no one had ever seen before. But would I only be able to see this adorable side of him when he got sick?
I pouted at the thought and dragged myself out of bed.
I hopped into the shower like he suggested and thought back on Rafael’s words. Would it really be alright for me to hide in here until his parents leave?
I didn’t even have any memories of my own parents anymore. Would I even know how to act before them without shaming Rafael? What if they thought I wasn’t good enough for their son and wanted me to leave him? Could I do it?
I sighed at the depressing thought and stepped out of the shower, wrapping myself in one of the fluffy towels. After drying myself, I carefully padded into Rafael’s closet and glanced around the interior of the walk-in. There were suits and more formal wear lining one wall while the other side held more casual clothes that I rarely saw him wear, like loose long sleeves and sweats.
I knew that Rafael said that I could use any of his clothes, but was it really alright for me to dig through his stuff?
After much hesitation, I grabbed one of his hoodies off the rack and looked around for any pants that may be small enough to stay on my hips. Almost all the pants on his racks were full-length and much too long for someone who was much more than a foot shorter than him.
I timidly opened one of his drawers, hoping to find some form of shorts that I might be able to tighten to my size, but my cheeks only turned bright red when I caught sight of a pile of men’s underwear and what appeared to be a box of condoms.
I immediately slammed the drawer shut and opened the one below it instead. Although it still wasn’t shorts, at least it was only a couple of solid-colored tees. I went through several more drawers similarly until I finally came upon a shelf of gym shorts and eagerly plucked a pair off the stack.
I quickly slipped the oversized hoodie over my head, reveling in the familiar scent of cologne woven into his clothes despite how it constantly threatened to fall off of my shoulders. Then I pulled the shorts up to my hips, tying the drawstring as tightly as possible to keep them on my hips. I walked back into the bathroom and tried to tie up my tangled hair as neatly as possible.
I knew that Rafael said that I didn’t have to meet his parents today, but I wanted to greet them at the very minimum.
Despite my racing heart, I pushed myself to the door. I nervously wiped my clammy hands on my clothes.
Praying that they wouldn’t look down on me, I cracked the door open by a sliver and cautiously peeked out of the bedroom.
“She’s the one that you were telling me about, right? Light hazel hair and bright violet eyes. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize her. Where did you even find her? She’s just too adorable!”
“I know she’s adorable, but you can’t be like this around her. You’re going to frighten her. She’s not all comfortable around strangers yet.”
“Yes, yes, yes, I’ll be on my best behavior, so when can I meet my daughter-in-law?”
“Not today. She’s not ready yet, so I need you to leave right now.”
“But I said that I would be on my best behavior. I won’t ask her weird things and-”
“No, you will be leaving now, and nothing-”
I accidentally leaned on the door a bit too much while eavesdropping and ended up making a painstakingly loud creaking noise, which captured everyone’s attention.
Rafael instantly hurried back to me and stood in front of the crack, blocking me from everyone’s sight. He worriedly glanced down at me and quietly asked, “Is something wrong?”
I shook my head. “I just wanted to say hi to your parents but got a little scared.”
His gaze softened as he gently placed a hand on my head. “Jane, you don’t need to push yourself like that. They don’t mind waiting a bit longer until you’re ready.”
I shook my head again and stepped closer to him, pulling his hand off of my head and intertwining our fingers. “I want to do it. I’m just a bit nervous, but I’ll be fine.”
Noticing my firm gaze, he sighed reluctantly. “If you feel any discomfort at all, you have to tell me, okay?”
I nodded and gave him a reassuring squeeze.
With one last glance, Rafael turned back and continued holding my hand as he guided me into the living room. He stopped in the middle of the room and introduced, “Danary, these are my parents, Helena and Gabriel Cordova.”
I timidly inched out from behind Rafael and lowered my head in greeting, “I-It’s n-nice to meet you M-Mr. and M-Mrs. C-Cordova. I’m D-Danary Jane B-Belcalis.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to straighten myself back out. I was frozen stiff from the thought of facing two of the most infamous people in the country. The famous Cordova power couple who happened also to be m-my l-lover’s parents.
I could feel Rafael fretting over me, but I couldn’t bring myself to lift my head. What would their expressions be like after seeing such an unkept little girl next to their son? Most likely nothing good after finding me lying on top of their son and greeting them in unfitting clothes.
However, I was soon caught off guard when I was tackled with a tight embrace that definitely didn’t come from Rafael. The arms were too thin, and the scent was much too floral to be Rafael.
In an exchange that was only for the two of us, she softly whispered, “Thank you for coming into our boy’s life.”
Her embrace was tight without being too tight. It was just enough to make me melt into her arms. It brought back old feelings of being hugged by my parents before they left us, feelings that I had long forgotten.
Could I really be accepted in his family like this?
I glanced at Rafael nervously, but he only gave me a reassuring smile.
I tentatively wrapped around his mother, returning her hug. She squeezed me even tighter, bringing a small smile to my lips.
Was this what it was like to be unconditionally loved?