Cora touched Robert’s knee. He had fallen asleep soon after they left. Cora had felt nervous when she realised she would have to drive. It would be her first time driving a stickshift car, but Robert was a wonderful teacher, she had discovered. And he had so much confidence in her driving skills that within minutes he doozed off.
“Darling, wake up. Your navigation says we are here.” Cora had parked the car alongside the road. She had expected to drive up to a hotel or at least a place where they could stay. But it felt that they were in the middle of nowhere. She nudged Robert again, who did not seem to want to wake up.
“Hmmmm” Robert moaned and slowly opened his eyes. “Are we there already?”
“I am not sure where we should be, but the navigation said: ‘You arrived at your destination’
Robert had a foolish smile on his face.
“Did you put in the wrong address? Did we drive two hours in the wrong direction?” Cora asked.
“No, no.” Robert was still smiling. “I did put in the correct address, where I wanted you to drive. I tried to keep our destination a secret.” He leaned forward and started to type in a new address. “Fifteen more minutes and we will be at our destination.” He put his hand on Cora’s knee. “You still do not want to know where we are going?”
“As I said, I like surprises. And from what I can see, you brought us to a beautiful area. I did not know your country had such beautiful nature.”
“I will show you every part of this country if you let me.”
Cora laughed. “I hope in a decent way.”
Now Robert’s cheeks coloured, he did not realize what he had said exactly.
On Cora’s face was now a cheeky smile. “I cannot wait for you to be fully recovered.”
Robert looked out of the window, trying to keep his feelings contained. Her words made heat come up in his groin.
+++
“Are we dining here?” Cora exclaimed enthusiastically. She had driven up the driveway of a castle and now parked the car.
Robert gave her one of his foolish smiles. “I booked a suite. We will have a room with a window seat inside the wall, a luxurious bathroom and a four-posted bed.”
“Oh Robert, that is so romantic.” She leaned towards him and kissed his lips softly. “Let’s go inside, I want to see the room.
Robert took Cora’s arm and together they walked into the lobby of Langley Castle Hotel. Cora was a bit overwhelmed with the luxury inside. They stepped back in time but with today’s luxury. “This is beautiful,” Cora said under her breath.
She waited for Robert to check-in. There was a sign with the history of the castle. ‘It was built in 1350, during the reign of Edward III, the castle has retained its architectural integrity and is regarded as one of the few medieval fortified Castle Hotels in England’
Cora knew England was an old country, but it was hard to grasp how old this building, actually was, over 600 years.
“Shall we go to our room? You can rest a bit before we have our dinner reservation.” Robert rested his hand on the small of Cora’s back.
This was a very calming gesture she noticed. Every time Robert touched her, her heartbeat slowed down, except when he put it lower on her bum. She looked at his face, would he have enough energy to explore each other? She was ready to get closer to him. She had always thought she would wait after marriage, but she knew she would not be able to withhold Robert for much longer.
+++
“I do not think I ever had a better meal than what we got just now.” Cora leaned back in her chair. Robert reserved a table for the relaxed dining experiment. This castle also offered a fine dining experiment, but Robert said they would eat there tomorrow evening. For tonight, he did not want to be dressed up in his tailcoat or tuxedo.
Cora was glad he had told her to put some nice dresses in her suitcase at the last minute. He said she would have to dress for a white tie evening, so she packed a long-sleeved, lace dark blue, gown. Tonight she was wearing an emerald green jumpsuit with high heels. She loved dressing up for Robert. Back home she would easily go outside in sportswear, but since she lived in England her wardrobe changed into a more stylish and formal style. She had only seen women in sportswear who were actual being active.
“We could order another glass of wine, but we could also let that be a room service.” Robert looked at her with smouldering eyes. Cora’s hand was resting on the table, Robert put his on top and brushed with his fingertips over the back of her hand.
Cora had kicked off her heels when they were seated. She stretched her leg and found his calve. Slowly she moved her feet over his leg and stared back at him. “I am fine with one of those two options.” She kept her voice low.
“Wine in the restaurant it is then,” Robert said and tried to get the waiter’s attention. “Can you bring a bottle of Riesling to our suite?” Robert asked, winking at her and Cora was relieved he chose that option. She wanted to be close to him. There was only a table in between them at the moment but it felt unbearable not touching him.
Cora’s chair was pulled back, quickly she got back in her heels and waited for Robert to offer her, his arm. As close as she could, she walked next to him. Once the door to their suite closed, she turned towards him and pressed her lips on his. She tasted the wine on his tongue, it was a slow but firm kiss. She was trying to get his dress shirt out of his trousers, when there was a knock on the door.
“Room service.”
“Ugh” Cora moaned and reluctantly stepped back, so Robert could open the door.
Verhalen van Traan 