Chapter 395

"I appreciate you doing this." Christian said to Gale, the prime minister.

"It's the least I could do. I have to be in DC tomorrow and a pit stop in Connecticut to refuel isn't all that obvious." Gale said.

"Thank you, truly." Christian said, adjusting his ball cap.

"I'll see you in a few days. Enjoy your time away from it all." Gale said. He smiled and grabbed his bag, stepping off the plane with another staff member. They walked through customs with an easy pass. Christian handed them Gilley's information and they barely looked at it. Christian smiled and nodded and walked to the car rental place to pick up his ride with Gilley's ID and credit card. Gilley wasn't thrilled to hand it over to Christian but the time off he was given helped to motivate him. He got the keys and started the car, pulling up google maps. It was 15 miles to the Madison Beach Hotel where Nora had an ocean view room. He made his way along the coastline and felt so free being on his own. He was anxious to see Nora. Nervous but excited. He pulled into the parking area and made his way inside, up to her room. He knocked on the door and she opened it almost immediately. She was wearing a black robe and nothing else. She leapt into his arms and kissed him as he carried her inside and shut the door behind them.

"We should eat." Christian said after three hours in bed. They were both exhausted and dehydrated, he was certain.

"I don't want to leave this bed. Not yet." She said, leaning over and kissing him.

"That's what they invented room service for." Christian said with a smile. He grabbed the menu and picked up the phone. "Yes. I would like to order room service. Yes." Nora kissed his stomach and moved slowly down until she put her mouth around him, moving slowly up and down his shaft with her tongue.

"Oh god." He moaned. "No. Sorry. The telly is on. Yes. Uhhhh fine. Sounds wonderful." He said as he hung up.

"You are incorrigible! I think I just ordered the entire menu. Fuck woman!" He said, pulling her up to him and flipping her onto her back as she laughed hysterically.

The next morning, he woke up to find Nora on the balcony, in her robe, having coffee.

"You're up early. I thought maybe you had left me." He said.

"Never." She said.

She turned and looked at him, her wild hair blowing in the cool spring breeze. It was warm for the end of March, 60 degrees. The sun hit her eyes just right as the ocean moved behind her and in that moment, he knew she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. He knew he needed to tell her everything. He was ready.

"You are so beautiful, I almost can't believe you are real." He said. She kissed him gently.

"I am very real." She said. He smiled. He was just about to open his mouth when she interrupted him. "And very hungry. Let's go down to the dining room for brunch." She said. He nodded. It could wait.

He threw on a hoodie, jeans and ball cap and hoped he wouldn't be recognized. They made their way down to the restaurant and he was thankful for the dim lighting.

They ordered and chatted.

"Nora." A tall, handsome and strong looking man said, stopping at their table.

"Jason." She said. The pitch of her voice was weird, Christian noted. "Here for the conference?" She asked.

"Yeah. I didn't see you in any of the classes, though. Are you staying through the week?" He asked.

"Yes." She said.

He looked at Christian and then back at Nora.

"Who is this? New employee?" He asked.

"Sorry. This my… Christian. Christian, this is Jason. An ex employee of mine." Nora said. Christian stood and extended his hand. Jason looked at it and smiled, then back at Nora.

"That's what I am, huh? An ex employee. Right."

Jason said. "Enjoy the ride, bro. It's a good time while it lasts. But don't get too attached. She definitely won't." He said.

Christian could feel the anger filling his body.

"I understand your desire to disrespect me, but if you ever speak of her like that again in my presence, I will make sure you aren't physically able to be understood the next time you make an attempt to speak at all." Christian said calmly.

"Wow, man. Super scared. Get your limey boy toy out of my face before I hurt him for real." Jason said to Nora.

Christian leaned forward and looked into Jason's eyes. "Good. You should be afraid." He said, keeping eye contact.

Jason pushed him and within a split second, Christian incapacitated him, pushing his head into the table. The people at the table next to them looked over.

"Get off of me." Jason said.

"Tell her you're sorry." Christian said.

"What! Fuck no." Jason said. Christian held him there longer.

"Fine. I'm sorry." Jason said.

Christian let him up.

"Thank you." He said.

"Whatever man." Jason said nervously, walking away.

Christian sat down and took a drink of his water.

"Who was that guy?" He asked.

"A tattoo artist that I dated for three years. The regrets runneth over." She said.

The server came up and asked if everything was alright.

"Yes. We will be taking our food to go, please." Nora said. Christian looked over at her.

"We will?" He asked.

"No one has ever done anything like that for me. Yeah. We are going back to the room and we aren't leaving until we have to." She said. He looked into her eyes and leaned in to kiss her.

"What if we never had to leave the room?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I mean… listen. You are on my mind, all day, from the time I wake up and even into my dreams at night. The sex is amazing, of course. But it's more than that. I just want you to know that I'd like to continue seeing you. I'd like to see where this goes." He said.

Nora thought about it and Christian felt waves of fear the longer she hesitated to answer.

"I'm not asking for anything or needing anything. I just wanted you to know how I felt." He said. She nodded.

"I'd like to see where this goes, too. You're the only thing that's been on my mind, since the night we met." She said. He sighed and smiled. He was so relieved. Now, he had to tell her the turn about himself.

"Nora, there's something else." He said. She looked at him.

The server came back and left their food. Christian took out some cash and paid for it. A television was on at the bar across the aisle from where they were sitting. The news was on.

"The king of England met with the president of Germany two days ago to discuss trade agreements. It is unclear whether or not a deal was made but our sources tell us that the king offered significant incentives to reduce tariffs for middle class energy and other various goods."

Christian smiled. It was a big win.

"Ugh. I get so sick of these people." Nora said.

"You do? Why?" He asked, clearing his throat.

"Bartering and trading and using other people's money to line their pockets. Politicians. The royals… so rich and yet don't make profits on their own. Redistribution of wealth. They take money from their people yet are supposed to be public servants. I thought the queen from America was going to change all of that but so many were against it. It's like they were afraid of the changes. I'm sure you caught a lot of that growing up, huh? Anyway, what did you want to say?" Nora asked.

His heart dropped.

"Oh ummm, that I'm tired. You literally wore me out. How about a nap?" He asked.

"Sure but not a long one. I have to thank you for being so chivalrous to my asshole of an ex." She said.

"Yeah, you'll have to tell me about that." He said.

"I'd rather nap." She said. They grabbed their food and walked back up to the room.