Ice and Fire

Chapter 205 A Sweet Life

When it came bedtime for Joe, Cherry read a story for him. After he fell asleep, she tucked him in and

left the room.

When she was also on her way to her bedroom, Cherry saw that the light in the study room was on.

She thought that Jackson must surely be in there, and she decided to go and check on him.

On her way to him, she saw Lily holding a cup of hot coffee in her hands.

Lily greeted Cherry, "Madam."

"Is that for Jackson?" asked Cherry, referring to the cup of steaming coffee.

Lily nodded.

"Give it to me, I'll take it to him. You can leave now, " said Cherry, while she took the cup from her

hands.

"Okay, " said Lily while nodding. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Cherry then entered the study.

Jackson didn't raise his head at first, thinking that it was Lily, but when he caught Cherry's sweet scent,

he immediately realized that his wife was in the room.

Jackson then looked up and saw Cherry standing beside him. "How come you brought me the coffee?"

he asked.

Cherry then handed him the cup, and said, "I just put Joe to sleep earlier and I saw Lily bringing you

the coffee, so I thought I would better bring it to you and let her go and rest."

Jackson took the cup of coffee and sipped some of it before he placed it on his desk.

Cherry thought that since she brought him the coffee she should leave.

But Jackson suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her into his arms.

Cherry lost her balance for a moment and fell into Jackson's lap.

She quietly sat on his lap, listened to his breath and smelled the coffee mixed with her husband's scent.

"Why the rush? Why not stay a little longer with me here?" said Jackson, trying to nuzzle Cherry who

felt his warm breath on her cheek.

She immediately turned her head away and avoided to look at him. "It's late, " she said, "I have to go to

bed."

"It's only ten o'clock now, it's not too late, " whispered Jackson affectionately in her ear.

"Take your time then, I'm going now, " said Cherry, as she struggled to get rid of his hold, but failed.

She was locked tight in his arms, and it seemed that she had no way of escaping him.

"I want you to stay with me, " he said, domineering.

Cherry still tried to escape, but her efforts turned out to be in vain. Eventually, she gave up on her

endeavour, afraid that she would provoke him.

She then obediently settled down on his lap and cuddled up against his chest.

Jackson also composed himself when he saw that Cherry calmed down. He held Cherry with one hand,

while with the other he flipped the pages of the book in front of him.

But reading was the last thing that he wanted to do now. How could he read a book in such a

circumstance, when he was holding the woman to whom he was so addicted?

Cherry sensed his absent-mindedness when his hand moved from her shoulder onto her hip.

"Well, " suddenly began Cherry to say, "Was Grandpa angry because of our early leave this

afternoon?"

"No, " answered Jackson.

"Oh, that's good, " said Cherry carefully.

As Jackson moved his eyes to Cherry's fair face, her innocent look fuelled his desire even more.

"I was wondering, how did you have the guts to fight Lucia today?" asked Jackson. He remembered

that in the past, Cherry had always remained silent to whatever Lucia had said to her, he being the one

who had always stood out and defended her. However, now Cherry had dared to excuse herself and

Joe in front of Andrew, and had suddenly turned defensive. He had not expected that coming from her.

Cherry replied, "Five years ago things were different, but not anymore now." She had renewed herself

in the past five years, and she had to be brave because she now had a son to protect.

She then added, "By the way, why can't Joe and I protect ourselves if no one stands out for us?"

Jackson's expression then started to change little by little. He stared at Cherry, and said, "Are you

saying that I didn't protect you and our son?"

He spoke the words very slowly, sounding as though she was questioning his ability to that.

Cherry then looked away to avoid his gaze and said nothing.

When Jackson saw that she was avoiding his stare, he grabbed her chin and forced her to face him.

"I've told you that you're my woman and that I'll protect you forever!" said Jackson firmly, like he was

reciting some kind of sacred vow.

His statement didn't move Cherry, who was no longer trusting men's words, especially Jackson's.

She thought for a while, and then flatly said, "Jackson, I know how to protect myself. There's no

need..."

Jackson stopped her from speaking with a sudden and violent kiss on her lips.

Cherry immediately struggled to push him away.

But her resistance was futile, because Jackson wouldn't accept to let her defy him. He wanted her be

the good girl that always stood beside him, rather than to be independent and distant from him.

The hot, deep kiss almost exhausted Cherry, and by the time Jackson was done with her, Cherry's face

was flushed scarlet, and she was gasping for air.

Before she even had the chance to calm down, Jackson picked her up in his arms and walked out of

the room with her.

"Where, where are you taking me? asked Cherry, anxious about what was to happen next.

"Where else would I take you at night?" asked Jackson back.

He then arrived in front of his bedroom's door and kicked it wide open.

He gently put Cherry on the bed and then threw himself onto her.

They then made love, and the night became long and sweet.

The following morning, when the first beams of sunlight shone into the room, Jackson was cuddling

Cherry tightly in bed, while he was still asleep. Only by keeping her so close to him every moment

could he feel that he was finally at ease, and that he was living a happy and fulfilled life.

Joe had also just woken up, and as he rubbed his sleepy eyes, he walked to Cherry's bedroom.

"Mommy?" said Joe as he pushed the door open, but he found that the bed was empty.

He felt a little bit upset when he didn't find Cherry there, and wondered, 'Why would Mommy get up so

early on a Sunday morning?'

He thought for a while longer and then decided to ask his Daddy about her.

When he arrived at Jackson's bedroom, he tried to be as silent as possible not to alarm the people

inside. He peeped through the door's crack and saw his father cuddling with his mom.

He instantly covered his mouth, closed his eyes, and walked away, tiptoeing downstairs with a big

smile on his face.

Lily was cleaning the living room on the first floor, and when Joe saw her, he immediately told her, "Lily,

don't clean upstairs until afternoon."

Lily turned to look at Joe and was confused as to why the young master disturbed her routine job,

which was to clean the second floor immediately after she was done with the living room.

Joe read her mind, and explained, "Daddy and Mommy are still asleep, so be careful not to wake them

up. Just do as I said, you can go and clean it later in the afternoon."

"OK, got it, " she said while she nodded to him.

"Both you and Bill, " warned Joe again, "Remember not to go upstairs and disturb them before they

wake up. Do you understand?"

Lily had to do exactly as her young master said without questioning his words.

Joe was satisfied to hear her promise, and then happily said to himself, "I'll go water the flowers."

When Cherry opened her eyes she was instantly blinded by the bright sunlight that hit her face. She

whispered to Jackson, "You forgot to draw the curtains."

Jackson understood her muffled voice. He moved his body a little and changed his position to easily

hold Cherry more closer to him. He then put his hand over her eyes, and said, "Go back to sleep, I'll

block the light for you."

Cherry then pulled his hand away, and as she looked at his sleepy face, she said, "It's already noon

now."

"It's Sunday, let's get more sleep, " said Jackson, who just wanted to lay in bed close to Cherry instead

of sleeping.

"Jackson, come on, it's time to wake up, " said Cherry in a fond tone. "If you don't get out of bed, I will."

Jackson then instantly opened his eyes, and Cherry's familiar face came into sight. She looked as

beautiful as ever.

Cherry pulled the quilt to cover herself better, somehow startled.

"What's wrong? Are you cold?" asked Jackson.

Cherry looked at Jackson, and said, "Jerk, remember to close the curtains and the door next time!"

Jackson stood up and saw that the door wasn't fully shut, but since he had not heard any footsteps

outside of it, he was sure that no one had come inside.

Jackson glanced at Cherry, and after he fondled her hair, he said, "Baby, there's no need to worry

about anything here at home."

"What if Joe sees something?" said Cherry, who didn't want her son to spot anything improper.

Jackson leaned closer to her, and said, "It doesn't matter. Our son is a genius, and he probably already

knows everything."

"How could you..." Cherry couldn't find her words to argue with him.

She decided to go to the bathroom first, but when she was just about to get off bed, a pain suddenly hit

her, and she fell back onto the bed.

Jackson anxiously asked, "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Cherry glared at him, and said, "Can you be a little gentler next time? It hurts."

Seeing her painful frown, Jackson said, "Baby, I'm sorry. I'll try to be more careful."

Jackson's apology apparently pleased her, but she pretended to still be angry with him. "Help me go to

the bathroom, " she ordered him.

"Sure, " said Jackson. He then kissed Cherry on the cheek and carried her to the bathroom.