I gazed out the window at the Parisian night as Jonathon navigated the streets like a native. He turned down a street and then another before I felt the car begin to slow. He came to a stop in front of a hotel called, Hôtel Plaza Athénée. It was absolutely stunning. I know my jaw must have dropped open. Balconies were draped in beautiful cascading red flowers. The stone of the building, though old, was sparkling. The hotel was huge and seemed to stretch on forever. A man came and took the keys from Jonathon and another already had our luggage. Jonathon took my hand and strode into the hotel like he owned the place. Hell, for all I knew he did.
He strode confidently up to the woman at the check in. He spoke in fluent rapid French. They seemed to be arguing about something. A man I assumed to be the manager came over and got into it. He gesticulated wildly and appeared to be scolding the woman, who was really more of a girl, about something. Her face flushed as she turned and grabbed a key. The man typed at the computer rapidly before she was allowed to give us the key. Jonathon took it, smiled, and I assumed thanked them. The man with our luggage was disappearing around a bend as Jonathon and I climbed into the elevator. The elevator lurched to a stop and Jonathon turned to give me a huge smile before pulling me into the hallway. He practically dragged me down the hallway he was in such a hurry. He stopped in front of a door, slid the key in it, and twisted the knob. The door opened to pure luxury.
“Jonathon,” I gasped, twirling around to take in my surroundings. “This is… Wow.” The room was gorgeous. It was done in muted gold and pale blues. It was so calming and the furniture screamed pricy. A wooden desk with gold accents was angled against a window. The desk looked like something a queen would use. A lavender colored blanket was draped over a pale blue chair. The bed had an antique touch to it, like the other furniture, and the wall behind it was draped in luxurious fabric creating a cozy feel. The bedding was thick and plush. Sitting on the bench in front of the bed was our luggage. I kicked off my shoes and the carpet was plush beneath my toes. I ran across the room squealing like a little kid when I noticed the view. The Eiffel Tower glittered in the night sky.
I jumped up and down and bounded into Jonathon’s arms; who had taken a seat in one of the chairs. “You are the best husband, ever,” I crushed my lips against his.
He chuckled. “I take it you like it then?”
“Like it? I love it! It’s perfect,” I hugged him.
“Mmm,” he hummed, grazing his nose along the top of my head, inhaling the scent of my shampoo. I turned to look him in the eye. His eyes were heavy with lust and I knew mine must be that way too. Suddenly, my previous fears seemed juvenile. This was my husband. I crushed my lips to his and dug my fingers into his golden hair. He groaned and picked me up, placing me on the bed. I sat up and ran my hands over the planes of his perfectly smooth, sculpted chest, before I began to unbutton the white shirt. My fingers were shaking and I couldn’t get them all undone. Sensing my struggle Jonathon pulled the shirt off and tossed it in the corner. He leaned down and his nose nuzzled my neck. “This was the way it was meant to happen,” he breathed against my sensitive skin making me shiver. I wanted to agree but I had lost all sense of myself and in the process my voice. His smooth chest, his chiseled abs, stared me in the face. For a moment I forgot to breathe. This was nothing like our first time. Then we had been rushed, excited, and scared because of the impending doom about to strike. This time… We were alone, married, and had all the time in the world. This was special. Jonathon was right, this was the way it should have happened. We should have waited. My breath hitched as his cold hands lightly trailed my back and then began to unbutton my dress. Before undoing the last button he kissed the back of my neck. The dress slid to the ground. I closed my eyes and when I opened them he stood in front of me. “I love you,” he vowed, “until the end of time.”
“For as long as we both shall live,” I whispered and pressed my lips to his.
* * *
Jonathon’s fingers trailed fire and ice down the naked skin of my arm. His lips pressed into the crook of my neck. I snuggled closer to him. I could see the sun beginning to rise. His fingers intertwined in my hair and he leaned over to look into my eyes. I could see how happy he was and my heart soared. I was beyond happy, too. I hadn’t known it was possible to be this happy. “Kylie,” he started.
“Shh,” I pressed my finger against his lips. “Just hold me.”
Words would never be able to do justice to the amount of love we had shared. It was perfect. He smiled. “I think I can do that.”
“Good,” I scooted closed, pressing my naked skin against his. Despite the coldness of his body I wanted to be touching him. He kissed my forehead and held me to him. I never wanted to leave this bed. Here, we were safe and alone. I didn’t want to break the bubble that seemed to surround us. It felt wrong somehow to be this happy. People were out there suffering and here I was the happiest girl alive. But nothing could ruin this moment for me.
My eyes drifted closed and I do
zed for a while but I could still feel the perfect planes of Jonathon’s chest pressed against my face and hand.
When I woke again the morning light showed brightly through the windows. Jonathon was in the same position as he had been when I went to sleep. His hand traced lazy circles on the skin of my back. “What do you want to do today?” he whispered into my hair as his nose trailed the skin of my cheek.
I stretched my stiff limbs and said, “I don’t know. I’m sure you know the city way better than me.”
“Maybe,” he shrugged, tracing the curve of my lips with his index finger, “but this is the first time I’m here with someone I love.”
“Well, aren’t I special,” I grinned.
“You most definitely are,” he kissed my forehead and my eyes fluttered closed.
“I definitely want to see the Eiffel Tower up close and after that I don’t care. I just want to be with you,” I confessed.
He smiled, “That is a delightful answer, because I know I’m really going to regret leaving this bed.”
I blushed, and his smile widened at my reaction. We extracted ourselves from one another’s arms and started to dress. The diamond headband was still in my hair, though it was slightly askew. I took it off and handed it to Jonathon. “Can you put this somewhere safe? Diana lent it to me and I can’t stand the thought of losing it.”
“Of course,” he reached out to take it. His eyes widened. “This was my mother’s,” he whispered in surprise.
“I know,” I rubbed his arm in comfort. “Diana lent it to me. She said she wanted your mom to be there with us.”
Looking choked on emotion Jonathon took the headband and placed into the hotel’s safe. “Let’s go,” he took my hand, the sadness was gone from his eyes now, and he was smiling. I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
The Eiffel Tower was massive up close. I had thought I would never get the chance to see it, but here I was standing underneath its arch, kissing my husband. My fingers traced the shape of his wedding ring and I couldn’t stop myself from glancing at our hands. It felt like the ring was supposed to be there. Like I would be naked without it.
Jonathon’s hand cupped my cheek and his silver eyes met my green ones. “I love you more than you’ll ever know.” Looking into his eyes I didn’t doubt his statement. I felt the same way. I felt like our love was so much more, beyond that of normal people, ours was the love of fairytales, of stories, so extraordinary it shouldn’t exist. But it did. I had never been in love before but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the love of soul mates was much more powerful.
I got a tourist to snap a few pictures of Jonathon and me in front of the Eiffel Tower before he led me on to the next adventure. We walked hand in hand along the Seine. Although my eyes took in the sights, they kept flickering back to Jonathon, and every time I looked his eyes were glued to me and a smile played on his lips.
We came to a little café and my stomach rumbled. Jonathon smiled, and stepped off the sidewalk, taking a seat at one of the outdoor tables. In no time a waiter appeared and took our order. When the food was brought out, I began shoveling it in my mouth. You would have thought I hadn’t eaten in days.