The Only Way is Up

Part Forty Five

Chapter Forty Five

A/N SO sorry at this ridiculous delay. Had my laptop stolen, and along with it the skeleton of the remaining parts to this story. It never seems as good second time rewriting and I apologise if this looks and reads rather frenetically. Hopefully back on track and no major storylines missed out. Appreciate the comments on this - I fear it's more rushed than it should be.

Again apologies, but hope you enjoy. X

Nicole stepped out of the office building and he was relieved to see that she'd changed into ankle boots and jeans, suitable clothes for the bike. Revving the throttle of his motorbike he was rewarded with her head lifting and with a hand held above her eyes, sheltering them from the sun, she connected with his eyes in a huge, knee quaking grin.

Max felt the tension in his body ease, she would make it worthwhile, he truly believed that, she changed his mood, dominated his thoughts. She was everything.

With a sexy smile she slid a leg behind him, arms wrapping around his waist. He hid the intake of breath that came with a gasp. Her effect was THAT profound on him.

"Where are we going?" She asked in a whisper against his neck.

He turned to look down at her from over his shoulder, "out of town, I intend to spoil you."

She blushed, and then her thighs clamped either side of his. She wanted this as much if not more than him.

Handing her the spare helmet, he gave her a moment to secure it in place, then with another rev of his engine; he pulled out, winding between the dense traffic over Tower Bridge heading south, for freedom from the city.

All day he thought he'd take her to Brighton, coast, great places, but there wasn't time, not really, and then a friend had recommended a pub in the Surrey countryside. And the instructions were spot on. In less than forty five minutes he was pulling into the car park of the Black Olive, a foodie pub in the suburbs.

The table he'd booked was on the rear veranda, a location that gave uninterrupted views of the rolling hills in the distance, and the bleats and brays of farm animals were louder than the traffic from the nearby road, a rarity and a surprise compared to over urbanized London.

"This place is perfect Maxim."

He looked up to see her smiling at him, menu open in her hands, "I got tipped off about it a while ago. Seems I owe my contact a thank you."

She nodded then dropped her eyes back to the menu; a waitress interrupted their comfortable quietness, and took their orders. When she left Nicole slumped back into his seat and met his eyes.

"Thank you for this, I really appreciate getting out of town. I could get used to this."

He could feel the heat rise in his cheeks, because he had a feeling that this wouldn't be happening again, not for a long time, unless he could regain control of his life.

Max had spent the day with Agent Franklin; he'd told him that he wanted to tell Nicole what was happening, make her complicit in everything, anything to avoid him breaking her heart, but the agent had laughed. Apparently Nicole not reacting naturally, her being involved would jeopardise the move, his father would know that he planned to go back to her, and ultimately she'd prove to be his Achilles heel. What would you father do to her if he knew that you still cared about her?

When he shrugged not wanting to answer that, he'd tossed a few photos on the table between them, women, beaten and tortured.

"See that?" He'd pointed at the slashes to their faces, almost an X on each cheek. "That's his signature move, his calling card, to deface, to ruin. Do you want that to happen to this woman?"