“Wow, this is different,” Cort said.
Teagan smiled widely. “Oh, you can’t tell me this is the first time you’ve done this…” she moaned.
Her voice was just above a fry. It was low, growling, and seductive.
“Not to this level,” he said. “You are truly a master of the game.”
Suddenly a new sensation was arising in his crotch. It took him a moment to realize that she now had both hands wrapped around his engorged flesh and she was moving her hands slowly up and down effectively cupping around him and manipulating him to climax.
He was going to blow. There was no way he could hold it.
The climax swept over him with an awesome wave of tension and pressure buildup that released into his boxer shorts and stuck the fabric to his rod as he tried to keep his voice down and the grown inside.
A moment after his sweet release the waiter came and asked him if there was anything else he could do for them.
“No. I believe just the check will do,” Cort replied.
Teagan laughed as the waiter walked away. Cort was trying to continue his finger’s assault on Teagan’s core, but with the climax, he’d lost some control of his faculties for the time being.
“Oh, I am going to get you, baby,” Cort said.
Teagan giggled.
And he did get her. They’d barely entered his living room before he had her naked and bent over in front of him, his rock-hard flesh driving deeply into her exquisite body. This time she screamed as loudly in total pleasure.
She came twice before he did again.
CHAPTER 19
Teagan
She was awake.
What time was it? She blinked her eyes to block out the glare from the giant alarm clock Cort kept by his bed. The digital read out read 4:45 am. It was still dark outside. She had been asleep for about five hours, but she’d tossed and turned the entire time. Had she even been asleep? She must have because the time passed too quickly.
Teagan was worried. She felt as if she was almost on the verge of panic. The confusion was setting in. An overwhelming feeling of doom was gripping her as if some invisible boogie man had taken control of her body and her mind. What was happening to her?
She’d had a beautiful evening with Cort. The flirtations under the table had been perfect. The food, the wine, the music—it had all been like something out of the most romantic old movie. She felt like Sophia Loren or some kind of Hollywood royalty.
But something was wrong. She had to leave. She didn’t know why exactly but this was becoming all too real for her. It wasn’t right. She knew that Cort loved her just as much as she loved him. And it was love. There was no mistake about it. The love she had for Cort bordered on total worship. It was breaking her heart to even think about not being near him, to believe that there could be a world where she was not being touched by him, but she knew it was the right thing to do.
She had to leave. She could not become Queen of a nation she did not really know anything about. And she could not fall in love and rearrange her whole life for a man she’d known barely a week. She had to go home. It was time for her to get back to her life and forget that Cort Monreau even existed, no matter how difficult that was going to be. She couldn’t think about it; she couldn’t rationalize it. If she did that she was going to talk herself out of it because her heart would be doing all of the talking and when that happened she ended up in trouble. She just had to leave, and she had to do it quietly without any real thought.
Teagan slipped out of bed in the dark. She grabbed her phone off the nightstand and turned on the flashlight. Carefully shielding the light from Cort’s eyes, she cast it downward with her hand as she looked for her clothes. She found them folded up on the floor. For the life of her, she couldn’t even remember how she had wound up in bed, let alone how her clothes had all ended up here in the bedroom in a neat little pile.
She was completely nude, and the rush of the air conditioning chilled her bones quickly. Teagan grabbed her panties, then her bra. She put both on hastily, being as quiet as she could. If Cort woke up, he would talk her into staying, and it wouldn’t have taken much convincing. She loved him so much.
What was she doing? This wasn’t right, was it? Tears stung her eyes as she struggled with her feelings and finished getting dressed. She didn’t know what she was doing. For the first time in her life, she had no idea who she was or what she was doing. But she knew that she had to get out of here, and she had to go home. She would feel much better when she got out of this fairy tale world she’d somehow stepped into.
Teagan put her shoes on and slipped out of the bedroom quickly. Somehow, she remembered the way down the hall and the stairs, and past the guards standing just outside the door of the castle. It blew her mind how something could look like a castle outside but a regular palatial mansion inside. The guards barely glanced at her as she said goodbye. Maybe this was not such a different thing to have a girl leaving the palace in the middle of the night?
She called a taxi and rode back to her hotel. Teagan quickly packed her things and took a cab to the airport where she traded her tickets in for an earlier flight. Luckily, she only had to wait three hours before a flight to San Diego boarded. She was ready to go home.
Once she was on the plane, she felt somehow safer. It was almost like the past week had been some kind of a weird dream. Life was starting to make sense again. She felt like she was actually doing what she was supposed to. It would be so good to see her family, her friends, her students, to get back to her life again.
But she missed Cort. Already she missed him. She wanted so badly to wake up in his bed, to be in his arms, to have breakfast with him every day. The tears did not stop rolling down her face the entire trip back home. If she was doing the right thing then why was she crying so much? Life just did not make any sense to her anymore. What was she doing?
As she got closer to home, she began to miss Cort more and more. Teagan was questioning her decision. Why did she leave so abruptly? Cort would be crushed. She knew that, and the thought of hurting him felt like a giant dagger being jammed into her heart and twisted around inside of her chest. She couldn’t breathe. Every single gasp of air was deliberate and labored.
She felt sick as a dog. She wanted to run back to Cort and be in his arms. When she landed, she would have to call him and apologize. He had to know what she was thinking and that she loved him.
But when she landed she could not bring herself to make a call, text, or even send an email to the only man she’d ever loved.
He might be the only man she ever loved.
And she’d left him.
What had she done?
CHAPTER 20
Cort
She was gone.
There was not a note left, a word of goodbye—nothing. Teagan left him in the middle of the night, and he had no idea where she went.
When Cort woke up, he was surprised to discover that he was alone in bed. At first, he figured Teagan was in the bathroom or that she might have even decided to try out the gym and get a good workout in before breakfast, but her clothes and everything was completely gone.
Cort called her hotel, but they said she checked out already. She wasn’t answering her cell phone. He even tried email and social media, but she was not responsive their either.
Was it something he’d done? Did he come on too strong? Or was it just time for her to go home and she decided he was not important enough for her to stick around for? Surely that wasn’t it. They had something going, didn’t they? They had something important starting.
“Oh, God… she is really gone…” Cort muttered to himself. He was standing in the shower where no one could hear him trying to clear his head when the realization hit him. The love of his life decided that she didn’t feel the same way after all and she was gone. She didn’t even say goodbye.
Why? Did she feel it was easier that way? How could she just do that to him? Surely, she realized that doing this was go
ing to rip his heart right out of his chest. It had to be something else. Something he did or didn’t do… or maybe it was the situation.
Cort calmed himself down standing under the water, letting the waves of hot water just wash over his body. It felt good, relaxing, calming. He was going to figure this out. He just had to place himself in Teagan’s shoes. What was she thinking?
She was a smart woman. Surely, she knew that in the back of his mind and hers if she stayed with him then she would inevitably become Queen of his nation if they married before his thirtieth birthday anyway. Which he thought they might as well.
But hadn’t he made it abundantly clear to her that he was not going to marry someone just for that reason?
“That’s still a big thing to think about,” Markus said when Cort filled him in on anything. Markus was the closest friend he had in the world. Cort considered him a brother in all ways but biological which meant nothing to him. That had never been the definition of family in his eyes. Family was love, it was support, and it was recognizing a kinship between two people that was unexplainable. They’d been best friends since childhood.
“I know,” Cort said. “I just wished she’d talked to me about it. I could have set her head on straight.”
“You would have said all the right things, but in her mind, she is thinking that she is going to become Queen of a country she knows almost nothing about. She is going to leave her entire life behind. Think about it man; she isn’t one of us. That is a scary thing to go through. It’s a lot to ask. I understand why she got scared.”
Cort looked at his friend and groaned. “Ugh, why do you always have the level head around here?”
Markus laughed. “Because that is my job as your right-hand man and your best friend.”
Cort nodded. “Right you are. But what do I do now?”
“Well, you need to give her a bit of space. And you need to contact her one way or another. I think she will listen if you tell her what is really in your heart.”
Cort smiled. “Ok. That’s what I have to do.”
Just then his phone rang. It was his senior advisor.
“Prince, there are some new developments. I think the Parliament is about to crack under pressure from the people! They might amend that law after all. We have a meeting today at four in Parliament’s Chambers. Don’t be late!”
Markus gave Cort a high five.
CHAPTER 21
Teagan
“Are you going to just continue moping?”
Teagan looked up at Ellie. She wiped her eyes and leaned back against the couch. It had been two days and she wasn’t sure if she had stopped crying once since returning home. She didn’t understand anything anymore.
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” Teagan said.
“Well, I hear where you’re coming from, but you clearly did the wrong thing because now you are completely miserable. I’ve never seen you this bad. I’m starting to get worried,” Ellie said.
“I just want to be with him. I miss him so much, but I know that I can’t be Queen of some other country. I’m American, and this is where I belong. Oh, why couldn’t he have been a normal American guy?”
“You are seriously the most twisted person I know. Do you know how many women would love to trade places with you? You just had a passionate affair with a prince who is about to become king of an entire country. Do you not see how awesome that is?”
Ellie stuffed a big bite of ice cream into her face and then offered Teagan some. She declined.
“I guess it does sound ridiculous, but I don’t care about any of that. I don’t care that he is the prince. I don’t care that he might become King. I just want him. But I know if I am with him that I’m going to become Queen. Queen! Do you get what that means?” Teagan pleaded with Ellie to understand, but Ellie was fantasizing gazing off into thin air.
“Wow, I could have been best friends with the Queen. How sweet would that have been?” Ellie fantasized.
“Ugh! Are you messed up? Being Queen is a lot of work. It’s a lot of responsibility. You are in part responsible for an entire nation of people’s well-being. Does that not compute?” Teagan asked.
Ellie thought a moment. “Yeah, that does kind of suck…”
Teagan couldn't help but laugh. Ellie was so clueless sometimes.
“I never should have left,” Teagan said. “Why am I so torn? I don’t know what to do.”
“I can only tell you what I would do, but this is something you really have to decide for yourself,” Ellie said.
“Ok, what would you do?”
“I’d call him up and say I’m sorry,” Ellie said.
Teagan looked at her. She was serious, and Teagan knew that she was right.
She had to talk to Cort. Otherwise, she was going to regret it for the rest of her life.
CHAPTER 22
Cort
“After much debate and deliberation, based on the feedback we have received the Parliament has agreed to the amendment of the rule of secession.”
Cort could hardly contain his excitement as Maricle delivered the verdict of the new ruling. It was insane how quickly the Parliament had changed its mind after the people took to social media and staged several protests throughout the country. They did not want anyone but Cort to take over as King. They loved his father, and they knew that he would continue many of his father’s beliefs and rulings. He would even progress things farther along, and the country would continue to prosper. This would not happen under the rule of his uncle. The people knew what he was like and they were not about to stand for it.
So, the Parliament had wisely reconsidered.
“I’m glad to hear it,” Cort said.
Miracle ignored his interruption. It was obvious the old geezer hated saying every word that was coming out of his mouth, but it was beautiful, sweet music to Cort’s ears. He could hardly believe that this was happening.
“With the new amendment, the Parliament nominates you, Prince Cort Monreau to secede King Monreau as the new King. Your coronation will be precisely one month from this date.”
Cort thanked them all kindly and left the chambers. Markus and his advisors were all there to greet him. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn’t know how this had happened. He was in shock, his skin crawling, his body trembling. It was clear now exactly how much stress and strain this had actually caused to his body. He was not sleeping well; he couldn’t concentrate on his duties, his workouts and diet had suffered, he’d been drinking too much, and he’d lost the best thing that had ever happened to him in Teagan.
He had to get her back.
And he had an idea of just how to do it.
CHAPTER 23
Teagan
“That’s it, class. You really want to sink down into your knees and feel that squat position as we shift from Warrior One to Warrior Two. I know it burns, but that is the signs from your body that the muscle is working. You have to give that muscle a test and force it to submit.”
Teagan squatted further into her pose showing the class how it was done, remembering the new things she’d learned from Siri during the retreat. If she could help at least one of her students attain a higher level, then she felt that her job was actually worthwhile.
She was excited to get back to teaching, thankful to be back in her normal life, and back to her regular routine. It had been almost a week since she’d left Cort and come back. She was starting to feel like everything was going to be ok.
Ellie had actually done a great job filling in with the class and adhering to her instructions. Teagan knew she could count on her friend, but even still she’d been nervous. But there was no way she was about to turn down that once in a lifetime opportunity that had proved to be life changing.
But she missed Cort terribly. Every waking moment was spent thinking about him, even when she was doing something else. She kept imagining he was right with her, holding her, talking to her. Oh, she could hear his swee
t, masculine voice whispering in her ear and telling her how much she meant to him.
She’d blown it. Teagan reminded herself constantly that she’d left the best thing that had ever happened to her because she was afraid. She should have realized that as long as she was with Cort then nothing else mattered and there was nothing she couldn’t accomplish.
He’d emailed her a few times, but she’d been too scared, too embarrassed maybe to even write back. It was pathetic behavior, and she felt deep shame about it. What in the world was wrong with her?
“Ok, class. I want to thank you all for your hard work today. I think we made some real progress and I will see you next time.”
Teagan watched her class pack up their things and start to head out. She’d just noticed it was time to wrap things up and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Another couple of minutes of feeling sorry for herself and the whole class might have watched her have a bit of a meltdown.
She hadn’t really thought about Cort that intensely for a few days. She had to speak with him. He had to know how she felt.
Teagan was grabbing her water bottle and her coat off her desk when she saw a figure in the back who was not moving. He was just standing there with a smile on his handsome face and watching her.
She had to do a double take to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. But she wasn’t. It was really him.
Cort was standing in the back of the classroom.
It was like a dream, but he was right there in the flesh. Her last student waved goodbye to her, but Teagan barely registered it. It was just she and Cort standing in the empty classroom now, and she was walking towards him. It felt like she was floating, her legs barely moving.
“Hey, there,” Cort said. “I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d drop by.”
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