As prince he’d never had to go through any of it. And he rather liked it that way. But this was an amusing experience. The frustration was weird because there was an element of mystery and excitement to it all.
He walked past the bar where he’d left his friends and texted his driver that he was ready to be picked up. He’d actually ridden with his friends to the club but he always kept a driver on standby just in case he decided to leave early, which he did sometimes. The demands of being prince were more than most people understood and sometimes he had to get adequate rest to recharge the batteries.
And sometimes he just liked to brood. He often enjoyed his bad mood days, as strange as that might have sounded to most people. He had a feeling the beautiful Teegan would have understood that though. She seemed to understand everything about him.
Of course if he ever did get really close to her she would know that he’d lied to her about who he really was. But in his position, she would have to understand. She would know why he did it. Wouldn’t she?
He hoped that he got to find out the answer to that question.
Oh, he had to see that girl again. He just had to.
7
Teegan
Teegan zipped up her duffel bag and finished getting dressed for the day ahead of her. She’d just double checked it to make sure she had everything she was going to need during her stay in the wilderness for the next several days.
She was so wired. Hell, she should have been totally exhausted after her late night and the fact that she barely slept when she did get back home, but she felt like she could run a marathon and then do some rock climbing.
Last night had been perfect. There was just no other way to put it. What started out to be a night just relaxing and getting out of her room had turned into the kind of passionate affair that Hollywood movies were made about.
Cort was perfect. He was sexy, handsome, interesting, and the sex was beyond intense. She’d never known real sex could be that good. Every woman dreams of a man who can do that to her and make her come that way, but you just didn’t think it was really going to happen for you. But it did happen to her. And she blew him off afterwards…
What was she thinking? She was rather drunk she remembered but she knew what she was doing at the time. Or at least she thought it was a good idea. But looking back with the coy way she basically told him to get lost was idiotic. What had she been thinking?
He was a gentleman and offered to walk her back to her hotel, but she told him no. She still wasn’t sure why. What was the thought process behind that decision? She just couldn’t understand that this morning. How in the hell could Cort have understood? He must have thought she just wasn’t interested, or that she didn’t enjoy herself with him. Maybe he thought she was just using him for a good time.
But that was the farthest thing from the truth.
Teegan grabbed her phone and checked, hoping that he’d called her. But no. She knew that he wouldn’t call. Why would he? After what she’d done to him she would have been surprised if he even spoke to her if she called him.
She clutched the phone to call him. She had to explain herself. But then she remembered that he had her number, but he hadn’t given her his. Crap! She didn’t even know his last name. And it wasn’t like she could check with his employer because he was self-employed.
Ugh! How drunk had she been?
Not too drunk to realize that Cort was the best guy she’d ever met and she’d just blown what could have been the love of a lifetime.
Or maybe not. Was she exaggerating a bit? They’d only had one night together. But when she really searched her soul for the answer to that it made her want to cry.
She would just have to hope that he would give her a second chance and give her a call sometime.
Teegan grabbed a quick breakfast downstairs and then headed out to meet the group. Outside the hotel was a bus waiting to take them to the location at the base of the woods where they would be hike to the final camp. This was where they would meet Siri.
When she arrived at the woods Teegan was a glad to see that there was an actual trail for them to take, so they wouldn’t just be walking along through the woods. She was not really an outdoors type person. So the trail was a gift from God.
On the bus trip the other members of the group spoke to each other. They came from all over the world, but luckily at least some of them spoke a smattering of English. Teegan sat in the back of the bus and just kind of kept to herself. She wasn’t really in a talkative mood, mostly because she wanted to sulk and beat herself up about how she had left things with Cort.
The lady who greeted them at the mouth of the woods was named Diane. She briefly went over what was going to happen. They were going to hike to the camp site which typically took about an hour by foot. It was going to be a fun time.
“But first all electronics must be given to me,” Diane said.
Teegan’s head shot up to look at her. Was this woman serious?
“Why?” An Asian girl asked reluctantly.
“Because this is a retreat. A big part of this journey is to find a deeper understanding of yourself and you can’t do that when the world is connected to you through artificial means. So all phones, laptops, etc. Any electronic devices need to be given to me. I will place them in a bag and of course you will get them back at the end of the three days.”
Teegan felt a moment of panic soar through her. That meant she would have to give up her phone. So on the remote chance that Cort did call her she would miss that call and not be able to contact him back for the next three days. A sickening feeling began to grow in the pit of her stomach. She contemplated refusing and she thought about hiding the phone somewhere. But she had been dreaming of this opportunity for so long that there was no way she was going to blow it. She did not want to be a troublemaker and get kicked out of the group. All over a guy she’d just met who would probably never even call her.
With a groan she reluctantly handed over her phone and other electronic devices. Teegan watched as the electronics were placed in the bag.
“Ok, let’s go,” Diane said as the group grabbed their bags and started the hike through the woods.
Teegan began to feel a bit better about giving up her phone the closer they got to the camp site. There was something about walking through nature that helped to alleviate stress from the body and the mind. The exercise felt great, the fresh air, the sights, the smells—it was all about going back to the roots of humanity, the roots of life.
She was seeing the benefit of giving up the electronic devices already. When you thought about it those things were vices, they were crutches, and they were invisible shackles. They kept a person dependent on a false reality that denied someone the real purpose of their life in a lot of ways.
By the time they reached the camp site she was hardly even thinking about Cort.
8
Cort
“My Prince, are you ok?”
Cort snapped out of his daydream and focused his attention back on the front of the room. Maricle, one of his father’s most trusted advisors and head of the Council was looking at him with concern and perhaps a bit of irritation on his otherwise emotionless face.
Cort glanced around at the other members of the council who were also peering at him. They all seemed very annoyed due to the fact that this was the third time Maricle had stopped what he was saying to make sure Cort was paying attention.
He felt stupid and knew that this was not helping his cause as he tried to appeal to the rule of the new king being a married man before assuming the crown. So far it was not going well and he knew it was because his mind was so preoccupied.
Cort could not stop thinking about Teegan. Ever since she walked away last night she’d been in his every thought. He’d barely slept because he was thinking about her so heavily. She was the most perfect woman he’d ever known and he’d known a lot in his time. In his younger days he was something of a cad, galavanting around with a dif
ferent woman in his bed almost nightly. But he’d grown out of that over the past few years and was longing for something so much more.
He thought he’d really found that with Teegan. Of course he couldn’t talk to anyone about it. The idea that he’d really fallen in love at first sight that way was totally absurd. If he told his father or the council then they would go through some crazy hoops to ensure that Teegan was brought to him to discuss marriage. That was the last thing in the world he wanted. If he and Teegan were going to be together it had to be done the right way, the normal way. That was the way he wanted it this time.
But he doubted that he would ever see her again. She had made it so clear that this was just a fling to her, something she could remember years in the future. She could tell her friends that she’d done something wild and crazy while on holiday.
“Yes,” Cort said. “I’m fine. I’m sorry. I was just thinking about something.”
“Oh, would you care to share?” Maricle asked a bit sarcastically.
Cort thought fast. “Well, I just don’t see why this rule still stands in the year 2015. I mean how archaic can we be living?”
“Prince, while this rule does seem archaic to you it is a big part of our society and the way our nation has always governed itself. We can’t break protocol for it all because you are not ready to settle down. And we certainly can’t have a king who is not ready to settle down. There is a certain level of maturity, a certain station in life that one must have accomplished before you can really obtain the status of King. Certainly you understand this.”
Cort gritted his teeth and held his breath a moment before answering.
“I certainly do. And I am far from immature as you would believe. Being married is not something that is obtained in my opinion. It isn’t a skill or something you train for at the University. It is two people who really love each other coming together to form a perfect union. It is not a political chess match. I just don’t get why no one can understand how wrong this is. I don’t need a wife by my side to rule, just because it looks good.”
“This is not what we are suggesting. You are approaching life as if you were a normal man. You are prince. And if you are to become king then you have certain duties that will be required of you. That means you will have to do things differently, things you don’t really want to do. Surely you can understand that.”
Cort glared at Maricle. He had known the man all his life and he’d always known him to be level-headed but right now he was being as thick as a bull.
“This rule must be changed,” Cort said. “I understand there is a tradition at stake here, but traditions get broken over time as people progress towards new ideals. That is what civilization does. It evolves. What worked hundreds of years ago no longer works today. I will be king with or without a wife. You will have to get used to the idea,” Cort said.
With that he stormed out of the room.
His hands were shaking he was so angry. The only thing keeping him anchored at the moment he realized was the thought of Teegan. Her sweet, beautiful face flashing repeatedly in his mind. He knew that he would never forget her and he realized that she would never be out of his thoughts. It was going to drive him mad eventually. He had to talk to her. He had to see her again.
Cort picked up his phone and gave Teegan a call. He could not go without hearing her voice another second.
“Hello, this is Teegan Norton. I’m not available right now. Please leave your name at the beep and I’ll call you back soon. Thanks.”
Teegan Norton. So that was her full name. He loved the sound of it. There was a nice ring to it.
“Hey, Teegan. This is Cort, from last night. Cort Monreau. I would love to talk to you and maybe get together again soon.”
He left his number and told her to call him anytime.
Ugh, he hated voicemail. Now he had to wait until she decided to call him back. If she decided to call him back. That was the torture of it all. He was so close to saying screw it and having his personal assistants track her down and bring her to the castle, but he would never do that. This girl meant too much to him. He had to know if she felt the same way about him.
Just hearing her sweet angelic voice was enough to calm him down and give him the sweetest satisfaction and just enough hope to go back into the chambers and apologize to the council for storming out.
“Guys, I know where you stand on this and you know where I stand. There has to be a way that we can reach some sort of a compromise that will work for everybody.”
Maricle and the others whispered amongst themselves a moment and then Maricle asked Cort what he had in mind.
But the truth was he didn’t know.
His mind was too focused on a girl.
9
Teegan
“You are holding onto too many thoughts, too much negativity. You must let go of all the things in this world that would bring you down. Embrace the light that surrounds your very life force.”
Teegan held the stretch, moving deeper into the movement, her body crying out resisting the change. But she was the master of her body, not the other way around. She would tell it what she required and she would allow her inner strength to grow and blossom as Siri’s words cut through her thoughts. His voice was so light, but so powerful. It was almost like some higher being whispering into her mind and bypassing her earthly ears. It was speaking directly to her soul.
She was vaguely aware that he was right beside her now watching her every move. His hands were on her lower back suddenly as she glided her body forward and deeper yet into the movement. Her muscles were screaming out for relief but he was not going to allow her any such relaxation.
After about thirty seconds she was grateful for the help. Her body began to shift and move much more freely as she leaned down farther to the ground, still keeping her feet planted firmly to root herself, to anchor her body and soul into Mother Earth.
“That’s it…” Siri’s voice was almost right beside her ear now. “Use the pain. That is just the outpouring of negativity from the world around you as it is replaced with all of the light from the universe filtering in.”
From the moment that she met Siri she was completely enchanted with him. She’d dreamt of the moment for so long that when it was actually happening she was almost frozen stiff with awe and envy. But now that she’d been working with him she had been able to focus her mind from the fact that she was totally star struck and just concentrate on his teachings. She was already learning so much from him to make all of this worthwhile.
But she would have been lying if she told herself or anyone else that she was not distracted. She knew she was capable of performing better Yoga, but her mind was very distracted.
She could not stop thinking about Cort. Every movement she was making with her body reminded her of the way he touched her, of the bliss he made her feel as he made love to her. If one could call it making love. It was raw, full of emotion, frenzied, and it made her feel in touch with a primal nature of hers that she had never really known existed.
And she ached for his hands to touch her again.
As Siri’s hands glided over her body gently to correct her positioning she thought about Cort and the way he would touch her. His hands were so strong, so safe, and so full of light. He was the kind of man that she had dreamt of meeting.
And she let him go. It was the stupidest thing she’d ever done and she hoped that she didn’t have to pay for it too long. Maybe after the retreat she would try to track him down. Perhaps the bartender that night knew him. Maybe he was a regular. That wasn’t much to go on but it was all she had.
“OK, that is all for today everybody. Please gather around the campfire in twenty minutes. We will have dinner and then we will have a group meditation.”
Teegan moved her body slowly back to her normal standing position and breathed deeply. She went back to her tent and sat down for a moment just trying to get a few quiet moments of reflection to herself. Her body felt amazin
g. It was relaxed and free of all tension. She felt like she’d just been reborn in some odd way. It was the thing that all yoga practitioners tried to get to, a level of awareness and attainment of the body and mind. The two needed to be strengthened to act as one and that could only be done incrementally she knew.
Today was the first step.
The way that Siri’s hands felt on the back of her body had been perfect. Because she kept imagining Cort leading her, guiding her, taking her body and mind to new heights of spiritual enlightenment.
He’d already done that last night. She smiled as she thought of the way he felt deep inside of her tight wetness. Teegan closed her eyes and imagined Cort there with her right then, just the two of them alone in the middle of nature. The sounds of the birds, the gentle breeze washing over their hard, naked bodies both primed and ready for intense lovemaking.
She could just see him standing over her, his rock hard girth only inches from her face. Oh, she wanted to taste him so badly… she had yet to taste him…
He was so large her mouth would barely be able to fit a third of his length inside but she would do her best, sucking gently and sliding his rod in and out of her aching and eagerly awaiting mouth, getting it all primed up and ready to go elsewhere.
She was getting so wet just thinking about how good it would feel, how he would taste. She could envision him grabbing the back of her head and guiding her mouth up and down on his staff, pulling out just enough to tease her lips and then shoving it back inside her warm, wet facial opening.
And then without warning he would lay her back, and enter her hard giving her no time to get ready, no time to prepare for the onslaught of his rigid purpose. It would hurt with pleasure that would eclipse the pain entirely within seconds. Her body would do what was necessary to please this beautiful man she was falling in love with.
Tank (The Bad Disciples MC Book 3) Page 19
