After speaking with Noor, Reine no longer agreed with Max's conclusion that Jameela Singh was messing with her just to get to him. The Order of Westminster had put too much energy into their efforts to spy on her when it would have been just as easy for them to target Max directly. There must have been another reason to involve her.
Although the threat remained a real possibility, Reine temporarily pushed the issue out of her mind. She was sure Max would do everything in his power to keep her safe - even from afar. He had failed to protect her earlier; he would never let that happen again. Her relationship with Gabe was also finally on-track, and she didn't want to do anything further to compromise it.
Going away for the weekend together for the first time was a defining moment for a couple. The way things unfolded could either lead them to become irreversibly closer or realize they were better apart. Reine was determined to have it be the former, but she was extremely nervous. She hadn't been intimate with a guy for almost three months, and she wasn't proud of that drunken fling on New Year's.
Gabe made her feel like a new person, and she gladly accepted his impromptu invitation. After Noor's betrayal, she not only welcomed the distraction, but also the companionship. In spite of their shaky beginnings, he was the first person in a very long time she could possibly commit to.
The drive down to Williamsburg started off as rather uneventful. She insisted on driving her own car, making an argument based on it getting better gas mileage than Gabe's SUV. Plus, she seemed to have less control in other areas of her life nowadays, and this was something she could still manage by herself.
She took advantage of having his captive attention in order to fill him in on everything she recently learned.
"That's messed up," he commented after she finished relaying what she knew about Sylvana, Noor, and Jameela Singh. "What now?"
"Well, everything leads back to Max, doesn't it? Maybe now that he's out of my life, things will now go back to normal," she vocalized her wish.
Having cleared the air, by seven they were already past Richmond on the highway leading straight to Virginia Beach. The monotony of the drive, though, was starting to get to her.
The manual transmission was just as boring as an automatic once it was in top gear cruising down the highway at seventy miles per hour. Although they still chatted occasionally, they spent most of the trip in silence or just listening to the radio. Sometimes she wished she knew what Gabe was thinking and whether he felt the same way as she did about their possible future together.
After stopping for dinner, Reine had an impulsive thought. On the way to the parking lot, she jiggled the car keys in front of Gabe. "Wanna to drive?"
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Of course. You looked bored out of your mind getting this far so you might as well enjoy the rest of the ride," she said
"I wasn't bored. I was thinking. Okay, I was a little bored. Give me those keys." He laughed, playfully grabbing them out of her hand.
Minutes later, she was already comfortably buckled in the passenger seat while he was still fiddling with the controls to adjust the seat to his considerably taller frame.
She wrinkled her nose. "Go ahead and say what you're thinking."
"How can you drive sitting this close to the steering wheel, you freakishly short woman?" he asked before they both laughed. After adjusting everything, Gabe started the ignition.
"I have to admit that I've been itching to drive this thing since it's been tuned." He turned on the headlights and put the car it into reverse.
Her eyes widened. "So that's how it is. You're not even interested in me. All you want is my car."
He looked at her one last time before shifting into first gear and pulling out of the parking lot. "Yup. You got me."
They'd just reached the highway's on-ramp when the first few raindrops hit the windshield. Within minutes, they were in the middle of a full blown thunderstorm.
Gabe looked at the built-in instrument in the center console. "According to the GPS, we're only a couple of miles away. We just have to take this next exit here."
He pulled onto the access road leading off the highway toward what suspiciously looked like grazing farmlands in the pitch black, rainy night. When five minutes later they were still the only ones on the otherwise empty, wet country road he became more anxious. "Are you sure you put in the right destination?"
"I think so," she stammered, looking for the hotel's address on the printout in the glove compartment. "15 Colonial Road, Williamsburg, Virginia."
Gabe sighed loudly.
"What is it?" she asked as she looked at him.
"Reine, this is Colonial Highway. We're probably way off course." The wet gravel crunched under the tires as he hastily stopped the car and parked on the side of the road.
She glanced at his face. Instead of showing annoyance or even anger, he looked remarkably calm fiddling with the electronic map.
"I'm sorry, I should have double checked," she said.
He didn't respond. Only the intermittent squeaking of the windshield wipers broke the silence. At first she thought he wasn't even listening, but it turned out he had been. "Don't worry about it now. We just lost roughly twenty minutes," he answered after finding the correct destination.
Making a U-turn, they began retracing their route. They didn't go far before he once again slowed the car and pulled onto the shoulder. "We may have a flat tire."
Reine shook her head. She couldn't believe the string of bad luck they've been having. "What? How?"
"Must have picked up some glass or a nail when we pulled over back there." Shutting the engine off, he took a few seconds to observe the downpour surrounding the car and prepared for the inevitable. "I'm going to go check it out."
"Stop! You'll be soaked." She reached for his arm.
"Do you have any other suggestions?" he asked.
"We could try to wait it out. Come on, just sit back and relax for a minute, okay?"
She reclined her own seat as encouragement, but at that exact moment - as if nature itself was conspiring to prove her wrong - a brilliant flash of light illuminated the sky. The immense roar of thunder followed a few seconds later.
Gabe shook his head. "Reine, this is ridiculous. That was right on top of us. The storm is intensifying, not getting lighter."
He left the protection of the vehicle. Individually examining first the front and then the rear tires, he returned just a few minutes later completely drenched.
He shook the water out of his dripping locks. "I guess I was wrong. They all look fine."
Even though Gabe was trying to maintain his composure, underneath the calm façade he was probably displeased with the mess which they were in. A mess that her carelessness with the directions created.
Reine didn't want to completely ruin the start of their weekend together, and she aimed to get him into a better mood before they went any further. Putting on the most serious expression she could muster, she gently placed her hand on his shoulder.
He looked at her with curiosity, but she didn't wait for encouragement. Taking the initiative, she gently grabbed his neck and drew his head toward her until their lips met.
There was a familiarity to the warm softness of his mouth, as well as to the act itself. The new environment just added a greater ferocity to how they approached each other.
Reine was already situated halfway between her own seat and his when he tried to pull her even closer.
"Oww, I'm stuck." She giggled. The steering wheel on one side and the gear stick on the other blocked her from moving. Pushing herself off him, she gestured toward the passenger seat. "Why don't you come over here?"
The tight confines of the coupe limited the grace of his maneuver, but he did it without complaints. Only the loud tapping of the rain broke the silence. As he switched seats, Reine realized that although she had placated him, they were going much farther than she had originally intended.
"Come here," he hoarsely whispered when he was finally situated.
Straddling his thighs, she comfortably leaned into him on the reclining seat. She no longer cared that the situation could get out of hand. Nuzzling his neck, she planted soft kisses at the base of his ear and along his jaw line, continuing to tease him until finally moving on to his anxiously waiting mouth.
His hands were busy unbuttoning her shirt. She drew in her breath with a loud hiss as his wet fingers finally touched the bare skin. His lips soon followed, and it was now his turn to explore the curves of her neck and everything below.
She raised her head to give him more space to trace the line of her collarbone with his mouth. The windows of the BMW were completely fogged up from the inside as he fiddled with the clasp of her bra. Instead of assisting him with the contraption, she grabbed the bottom of his wet shirt and yanked it over his head in one swift motion.
The subsequent events happened so frantically that even after replaying them in her mind countless times over the next few hours, Reine wasn't exactly sure how they had both managed to wiggle out of their pants. She was certain that she'd never wanted anyone as much as she wanted Gabe at that moment.
When they finally became one, she wasn't disappointed. The weather seemed to echo their actions, as lighting crashed all around them in conjunction with the booming thunder of a storm at the peak of its intensity. Neither could get enough of the other, and they moved rhythmically until the final swell of energy took them both over the edge.
She collapsed onto him, resting her cheek on his naked chest. Struggling to catch her breath, she couldn't say more than one, brief word. "Wow."
"Hmm. My thoughts exactly." He ran his fingers through her hair. "I have to admit, I was a bit worried about being with someone with so much experience."
She wrinkled her brows. "Why would you think that? Sure, I've been around for much, much longer than most people, but I'm fairly certain my annual average isn't more than any other, modern girl's. Besides, it's not like any of you men have ever complained about having a one night stand rather than a relationship."
Although she hadn't been looking at him, Reine felt Gabe's body tense up. She regretted her candor immediately. "I mean, not that I really had a choice. Uhm, you know staying incognito and all . . .," she nervously added.
Hoping he'd just dismiss her comments, she turned her face up and smiled. His stoic expression was unmistakable and her heart sank.
"Well, that's certainly not what I expected to hear right now. Never mind. Could you hand me my boxers? I think they're by your leg." He gently pushed her up.
Reine tried to make amends. "You know I didn't mean that. This was the best that I can remember. Seriously. And you know, coming from someone who's been around for a while, that's something."
Gabe's expression remained unchanged, and he moved over to the driver's seat in order for them to both to finish getting dressed.
They drove the final half hour in complete silence. It was almost midnight by the time they checked into the hotel and made their way up to their room. Seeing the single, king-sized bed, she had to do something before their entire weekend - if not their relationship - was ruined.
Gabe beat her to it. Walking in behind her, he dropped their bags on the floor, stepped over to where she was standing, and took her hands in his. He seemed to be trying to find the right words because he remained silent for a long time, just looking deeply into her eyes.
With a loud sigh, he was finally ready to talk.
"I think I am in love with you, Reine Baldwin, but whether intentionally or not, you are doing your darnedest to push me away. I really don't know if I should fight back or just accept it."
She started shaking uncontrollably after hearing the proclamation, but Reine made sure to choose her words carefully as tears began to run down her face.
"You know that my - that our - situation is complicated. But I know I want to be with you. With YOU. Please forgive me for all of the stupid things I've done," she begged.
He answered her with a kiss, one which was even more passionate than any of the ones from earlier in the night. She'd gotten the forgiveness, but their relationship was still fragile. She loved him, too, but telling him would have to wait for another time.