Beautiful Catastrophe

Chapter Fifteen:

"Wake up." Nathan spoke gently while shaking her a little. "We're here Kim."

"Hmm?" she asked, one eye still closed. She could see they were in a parking lot and blinked a couple of times then to clear the sleep from her eyes.

"Let's go." He laughed at her before getting out of the car and shutting his door.

Kim did as she was told and met him at the front of the car. He was holding the duffle bag and with his spare arm, held it out for her to link. She took his arm and they both walked through the car park to the main entrance of the extravagant looking hotel.

She looked in awe at the sight of the bright lights amongst the dark sky and the huge buildings towering over her. As soon as they got inside, Kim couldn't help but feel self-conscious by what she was wearing and how she looked. The hotel was beautifully decorated and only people dressed in the best of clothes could be spotted.

Nathan noticed how she held onto his arm a little tighter then as they reached the front desk.

"I have a reservation under the name Smith." He spoke with great confidence.

"Just give me a minute sir." The receptionist scanned through the information on her computer before organising the room with him. She handed him two key cards at the end of the conversation and told them what floor they were on.

Kim couldn't stop her eyes from wandering everywhere around this new, extravagant place. Of course, back in Chicago, she would stay in fancy places like this and associate with important people. All of this clearly displayed money, power and status that reeked off of the place and people here would not have been out of the ordinary for her or her family. But it had been five years since she left that life behind and things were different now.

"Holy shit." Kim exclaimed once they entered their 'room'. Nathan had forgotten to tell her he had booked a deluxe suite for seven nights there. "This place is huge." She spoke in astonishment.

"I know." He said, setting the duffle bag aside. His eyes followed her as she ran to the huge bed and jumped on it. Nathan couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her and walked to the edge of the bed. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Yes." She said as she snuggled up to the endless pillows and cushions laid out of the bed. Her eyes were closed and she felt as though she might fall asleep any minute.

"Don't get too comfortable, we're going out."

"What? Why?"

"We have people to see, things to do."

"But it's almost ten?" Nathan scoffed at her excuse.

"The party's only starting now, this is Las Vegas Kim. Everything keeps going all night."

"Where do we have to go? Can't I just stay here?" she groaned.

"We're going to meet my friend." He noticed how she perked up a little once he said that.

"Who is it?"

"You'll just have to wait and see..."

"C'mon? What if I use one of my questions?"

"Fine then." He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Kim sat up before she spoke.

"Who are we going to meet?"

"His name's Stephen. He's a close friend of mine since we were both young and he's going to help me out with my plans." Kim only nodded and got up from the bed.

"Where are we going to meet him?" She was very curious about his friend Stephen. She wondered whether he too worked in the CIA or not.

"We're going out for a quick bite to eat." Kim looked down at her clothing and hoped they weren't going anywhere fancy. She had nothing at all to wear. "Don't worry, we're both going shopping tomorrow. I need you dressed to impress for the week ahead of us Sweetheart."

"What have you got planned?"

"You'll see." She gulped at his answer. She felt more than anxious at the fact that he was withholding his motives but couldn't say much else; Nathan had already grabbed his keys and was headed towards the door.

It took them around fifteen minutes to get to a small diner that was away from all of the hustle and bustle of casinos and high-rise buildings. Once they entered, Kim spotted a man sitting at a table alone. Nathan smiled instantly when he saw the man and began walking towards him, not saying a word to Kim.

"Nathan." The man spoke warmly to him and shook his hand.

"Good to see you Stephen."

"Good to see you too, but even better to see this little beauty. And what might your name be?" Stephen spoke flirtatiously. Kim opened her mouth to speak but Nathan had already won the race she was not aware of.

"This is Kim." There was darkness hidden within Nathan's tone that made her eye him with interest. He put an arm around her as he spoke and held her close to the side of his body almost possessively.

"Jeez Nathan, relax." Stephen rolled his eyes but sat down then at their booth. "I'm just saying hi." He chuckled. Nathan knew he was being a little ridiculous but wouldn't admit it. He only gestured for Kim to sit into the booth before him and then followed her.

"Don't mind him Stephen. He can act like a caveman sometimes." She rolled her eyes back at Nathan's friend and the two laughed while Nathan narrowed his eyes at the two of them.

"So how have you been man?" Stephen finally asked once they had ordered.

"Pretty stressed out. I'm just happy to finally have gotten this far, the job's almost done but that doesn't mean I can relax yet. I won't be happy until it's over."

Kim wanted to ask what he was talking about but felt like staying quiet for most of the time they all shared together. She listened intently to the two men's conversation, trying to take in everything she possibly could. She was growing tired then and wanted to go back to the hotel to catch some sleep. Kim yawned and wrapped both her small arms around Nathan's big one, leaning her head on his upper arm. He continued on talking but not before moving his hand to sit on her thigh underneath the table.

"We better go soon." Nathan sighed. "I'll talk to you tomorrow alright?" he spoke to Stephen.

"Cool. I look forward to seeing you again Kim." Stephen winked at her, earning a glare from Nathan. "I'm joking Nathan, I know the Bro Code."

"I should hope so."

"Goodnight Stephen." Kim smiled politely at him, knowing he was just playing with Nathan. She didn't get a creepy, pervy vibe from him yet so understood his flirtatious actions were in fact a joke.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Nathan nodded at Stephen before taking Kim's hand and heading outside to this car.

The drive was quiet and there was tension building up that Kim couldn't ignore. They arrived at the hotel and once inside their suite, Nathan shut the door quite loudly. She turned around to see an extremely pissed off looking Nathan undoing his tie. By then, all exhaustion had left Kim, and she had become curious.

She let out a sigh before walking into the living room to sit herself down. Nathan strided into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror. He wondered where this rage had come from?

Nathan knew Stephen for a very long time, he trusted him completely, which was very uncommon for a man like Nathan. But all of a sudden he felt the need to be protective over her even though the two had nothing much between them. He was left not really knowing what to do or how to act.

As soon as Kim heard the bathroom door opening up again, she opened her eyes. She was lying on one of the sofas, waiting for him to come closer. Her eyes followed him like a hawk when she noticed he was nearing her but stopped at the armchair, remaining on his feet.

"Aren't you going to sit down?" she questioned.

"No." he grumbled.

"Nathan..." he looked into her eyes then and blinked a couple of times, taking in the beautiful sight of her relaxed figure lounging across the couch.

"What?"

"I'm using one of my questions which means you have to answer me. What has you so worked up?"

"You know what Kim."

"Stephen? He barely said three words to me, why are you so bothered by it? Isn't he a good friend of yours?"

"I-I don't know." She had a good point, Nathan knew it.

"Well then, sit your ass down and stop sulking." As much as he didn't like her telling him what to do, he listened to her anyway and sat down on the same couch as her, moving her legs onto his lap. Kim switched on the TV and flicked through the stations until she found something to watch.

The two sat there in a comfortable silence until Kim drifted off to sleep. It was two in the morning when Nathan decided to wake her up but she wouldn't budge.

"Just leave me here please." She grumbled, her eyes still closed.

"God Kim, you haven't stopped sleeping all day. Get your lazy ass up and get to bed."

"No." she groaned and turned around on the sofa.

"Fine then." He said. She thought she had won the fight and so smiled to herself as she got comfortable but then she felt his arms wrap around her and pick her up. Too tired to even put up a fight, she said nothing until he placed her down on their bed.

"Thank you." Kim smiled again and closed her eyes, snuggling up in the sheets.

"Whatever." He said and got into bed beside her. Kim was half asleep again by then, but felt him near her.

"Goodnight Nathan." She said sweetly to him. It made him smile to himself.

"Goodnight." He spoke and turned in the bed. He wasn't expecting what she did next.

Kim moved closer to him under the covers so that she could rest her head on his chest. Instantly, his response was the wrap his arm around her and then pull her closer. He heard her light breathing and felt how she draped her arm over his body.

Nathan couldn't help but come to the realisation that her touch felt right. Kim lying in his arms felt like the realest thing he had ever experienced, she was what he wanted and needed right then. As those thoughts processed in his mind, he felt the urge to remind himself that they were the worst things he could feel in that moment. It felt like the onset of a relationship that didn't exist and that was the truth, they were not together, they never would be.

"Goodnight Kim." He said after kissing her forehead gently. He looked down at her plump lips and her closed eyes and tried his best to ignore the panic shooting through him. Kim chuckled breathlessly then whispered.

"You already said that."

"Shut up and go to sleep already." He laughed too and held her tighter then before the two drifted off to sleep.

*****

"No, I don't want to get up yet." Kim groaned and turned on her side in bed to face him.

"We have to do things today, c'mon." he rolled his eyes at her laziness but lay in bed next to her still.

"Can't I have ten more minutes?" she batted her eyes at him and spoke sweetly. Nathan had a stern look on his face, showing little emotion.

"No." he spoke monotonously.

"But this bed is so much more comfortable than all of the other ones we've had...and you know how much I love sleeping."

"Kim..." he warned her. He wanted to give in, he was so close but he refrained from opening his mouth again.

Nathan watched her carefully as she traced patterns on his arm, her eyes moved to his, a certain look in them that he knew was familiar. Kim moved to straddle his waist and leaned down to kiss his neck. She felt his hands move to hold her hips as her lips moved to his jawline and closer to his mouth.

"You also know how much I love when you-"

"Kim. Go and get ready." He cut her off before she could say any more, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. They both had a busy day and night ahead of them. They had little time to waste.

"Oh fine then." Kim had given up and got up out of bed. "Where are we going?" she asked as she made her way to the bathroom.

"Shopping." He turned to look at the bathroom door once he noticed she had stuck her head back out.

"You'd rather go shopping than get laid Nathan? Sometimes I wonder..." she sighed before sticking her head back inside the bathroom. Nathan snickered loudly and heard the shower turning on.

"I'm not sure whether I should feel insulted or not!" she called out to him to which he replied with another laugh. She left the bathroom door wide open, hoping he might join her but was more than a little disappointed when he didn't. He was aware of her actions but had to use all of his self-restraint to stop himself from going inside.

He gave her a couple of minutes before he moved from the bed. Once he heard the water stop running, he walked towards the opened bathroom door to find her dancing around in a towel on the polished marble floors. Kim had yet to discover his presence or his eyes watching her attentively. Her grace and elegance came shining through as she done a couple of pirouettes. Kim opened her eyes and jumped once she saw his head peeking through the door frame into the bathroom.

"I was hoping that towel would fall and you wouldn't realise I was here for a couple more minutes." Kim rolled her eyes in response before heading out of the bathroom, holding her towel securely to her body.

"How about you follow your own advice and get ready too?" She couldn't help but feel slightly foolish because of Nathan finding her dancing in the bathroom. But she had an urge to dance and hadn't done so in what felt like so long.

"Okay, okay... Give me ten minutes."