Lessons of Love
Chapter 13 Timing Is Everything
Standard disclaimer: I don't own Monk.
Notes: To recap, the bachelor/bachelorette parties came to a close but, eek, the night's not over! Instead of going to his own room, the inebriated Mr. Monk insisted on visiting Natalie…. A teeny advisory for adult situations ;)
Thanks for reading and many, many thanks for all the reviews and PMs~ Ya'll rock!
Tiffany Philips purposefully strode down the deserted hallway of Sugar Pine Lodge and unlocked her husband's office. Settling behind the massive desk, she flicked on his computer and, within a few key strokes, hacked into the lodge's security system. She scrolled through the last few hours of the evening's surveillance of the lobby, tapping her fingers impatiently, "Come on handsome, where are you?"
"Ha!" Tiffany hit a button and slowed the video feed. Only minutes ago, four men, obviously tipsy, entered the lodge. Hitting a different button, the elevator's surveillance camera found her target, Mr. Adrian Monk. She chuckled aloud, "Oh, we're drunk? That'll make things very interesting."
The elevator opened and she quickly switched to the fourth floor's hallway security camera. Tiffany raptly watched Adrian squirm away from the Captain and, in a surprising display of affection, wheedle his way into Natalie's room. When the Captain finally walked away and Natalie closed her door, Tiffany sat back and pondered the empty hallway.
Hitting a few keys and bringing up a second screen, she scanned the records for the electronic door locks. Noticing that Natalie and Adrian returned to their separate rooms every night, she turned back to the live feed of the empty hallway and tisked, "Don't keep me waiting too long, Adrian."
~~~~~LOL~~~~~
Intent and breathless, it took all of Adrian's self-control to remain still as Natalie settled on the bed facing him. Staring at his beloved, his eyes devouring her every inch, the range of emotions and sensations raging through his body was unsettling. Unlacing his fingers and taking her hands, a mere tilt of his head sent his thoughts sloshing about.
Adrian's heart beat erratically- there was so much to say but all his words scattered, floating just out of reach. How could he possibly explain the true effect tonight had had on him? That the girls at the club, rather than igniting his most basic, primitive needs, had in fact stirred a sadness in his heart. He was well aware that the girls of MINX were just providing for themselves and their families, by any means necessary. And he was so grateful Natalie had been spared such a fate. Not that he was distressed or offended by the idea of his bride, in the privacy of their own home, doing the same things….
Natalie eventually broke the silence. "Glad tonight's over?" She smirked, her hips snugly pressed against his thigh.
Her words brought him from his trance, "Tonight's not over, Nat."
Untethered from his usual cautiousness and self-consciousness, he drew her close. The kiss that followed was scorching and overwhelming. Tightening his grip, he pulled her over and they settled on the bed, face to face, lying on their sides with limbs entwined.
Eyes sparkling, Natalie disentangled from their embrace and rolled to her back, "Adrian Monk, you're drunk!"
Completely besotted, Adrian propped up an elbow, "Drunk on your love."
Natalie threw her head back into the pillow laughing, only to stop when his warm hand slid under the hem of her shirt and his lips wandered up her neck. She let out a small moan before plaintively whispering his name. The inflection of her voice betrayed her temptation and, to his ear, invited him to continue.
Swinging his body over hers, straddling her, he was undeterred by the faint reminder of their promise to wait. As her hand grazed over the back of his neck, Adrian knew it was futile to resist. His willpower was lost and, as soon as they shed their clothes, she would be his completely.
"What are you doing?" Natalie squirmed under his weight, attempting to restrain his hand as it pulled at her nightshirt.
Adrian chuckled into the hollow of her neck, "Don't act like you don't know, my little minx."
Her words blending together, Natalie tried to shift away, "Adrian, you need to stop. You're drunk. You're acting like Frankie DePalma."
In an instant Adrian realized that, well, even though he was drunk, neither alcohol nor Frankie DePalma controlled his actions tonight. Rather, tonight he felt ready to embrace and heed his deepening desires and celebrate their love without inhibition or caution.
But as he pressed against her body and his lips reached her ear, tender words, words that would both explain his heart and entice her surrender eluded him. Instead, with his thoughts still muddled by his bachelor party, he found himself uttering a coarse demand of what he wanted, oblivious that, for tonight at least, these stark rough words were out-of-place and unwelcome to Natalie's heart.
And it was only after Natalie's knee, unexpected and sharp, sent pain coursing through his body and causing him to yelp and gag and double up, did he realize what he had said. Adrian had never before considered saying such crude words, much less to the woman he loved. And as he tried to catch his breath, it was unimaginable that in the future, amid twisted sheets and raw whispers and skin slick with sweat, Natalie would willingly and purposefully try to coax such words from him. But alas, tonight Adrian's thoughtless impulse had been painfully wrong.
"What's wrong with you? I said stop…Besides-" She climbed from the bed and, pointing across the room, hissed, "Julie's right next door and we have a connecting suite. She could walk in any minute!" Natalie marched across the room and snapped on the light.
Curled up with nausea, moaning quietly, Adrian's eyes drifted to the door. Connecting suites…Walk in from the other room without warning…For some reason this information seemed vitally important, but at this moment, Adrian couldn't fathom why.
Natalie gathered up Adrian's clothes and deposited them on the bed, "I think it's time for you to go back to your own room."
Adrian nodded weakly, not wanting to argue and too weary to explain. He crawled to the edge of the bed and gingerly pulled on his pants, unable to raise his face and meet Natalie's furious gaze. His shoes, carelessly tossed by Natalie, bounced near his feet. A peculiar sensation, that he was not himself but merely an observer of this scene, caused him to hesitate. How did things go so wrong so fast?
Natalie sighed loudly, "Come on Adrian, let's go."
A sudden spark of anger lit in Adrian. She was going to throw him out, with no discussion or regard for his feelings? He stood up too quickly and a wave of dizziness hit. Natalie reached out her hand to steady him but he pulled away.
"Fine, I'm going!" He grabbed his 'Property of Natalie' shirt and tossed it carelessly over his shoulder, grumbling under his breath, "Maybe I'll go back out to MINX, the girls there seemed to enjoy my company."
Natalie's reply fell on deaf ears as he stalked across the room, his eyes gliding over the dresser top. Lingerie and a pink boa and a, a set of pink handcuffs? God, what kind of party did she have? Utterly incensed, he yanked the door open and, without looking back or saying goodnight, he slammed the door behind him.
Out in the hallway, a couple approached just as he stumbled against his room's locked door. Mortified that he was out in public in his undershirt, he froze still and waited for them pass. He then proceeded to spill his wallet on the floor as he searched for his keycard. Squatting down and clumsily retrieving its contents, the couple's muted laughter was his final defeat.
Unlocking his door, he tossed his shirt aside and sat on the bed. With his feet still planted on the floor, he collapsed back on the mattress, his thoughts taunting him- so much for keeping his eyes averted, behaving like a gentleman and keeping his dignity intact. Three for three- nice job, Monk!
He closed his eyes and, although the room spun and tilted and whirled, at least the night was over.
~~~~~LOL~~~~~
"Oh, poor thing!" Tiffany Philips gleefully snickered as she watched the security feed of the fourth floor hallway. Swiftly deleting all evidence of her computer hacking, she turned off the computer and exited the office. After double checking she had her master keycard, a card that would open any room in the lodge, she entered the back stairwell.
Cracking open the fire door and seeing the empty hallway, Tiffany strode over to room 410. After pretending to knock on the door, Tiffany turned her back to block the security camera's view and slid the keycard into the lock. "Don't get up Adrian, I'll let myself in."
~~~~~LOL~~~~~
"OH, who am I kidding?" Huffing with frustration, Natalie threw off the covers and turned on the bedside lamp. Although Natalie had, through her door's peephole, watched Adrian enter his room, she knew she wouldn't sleep until she was sure he was safely tucked away for the night.
Without hesitation, Natalie picked up the phone. She tapped in the room number and listened to it ring several times before a sleepy voice mumbled a hello.
"Hey, it's Natalie. I'm sorry to wake you TK, but I need to speak with your husband." She waited as the phone was passed over. Leland grunted into the receiver and Natalie continued, "Captain, I'm sorry to disturb you but- no wait, honestly I'm not sorry. Anyway, you need to put on your robe, say goodnight to TK and meet me by Adrian's room."
Leland groaned in protest but Natalie cut him off, "No argument, mister! You're gonna spend the night in his room …. Listen Captain, it's your fault he's drunk! He shouldn't be left alone, what if he gets sick? … No, I can't stay with him….. You're asking why?" Natalie's temper flared, livid that she had to explain her reasons.
"Fine! If you must know, he wants to have sex tonight and I want to wait until our honeymoon, okay?"
The complete and utter silence was followed by a loud gulp and an inarticulate mumble.
Natalie fought to suppress a laugh, "So I'll see you by room 410? … Okay, in five minutes. Thanks Leland."
Hanging up the phone, Natalie donned her robe and then turned on the TV, rapidly lowering the volume as to not wake Julie. Flipping channels, she happily stopped when spied one of her old favorites- WINGS. Hmm, she had always thought that cabdriver cute…
Settling back against the headboard, she glanced at the clock; Adrian would surely be okay alone for five minutes.
~~~~~LOL~~~~~
If he pried his eyes open and looked at the ceiling, Adrian knew the room wasn't spinning. But, as he lay prone on the bed, sleep beckoned and his eyelids refused to stay open. Wave after wave of dizziness crashed over him. The world dropped off into darkness, disorienting him.
Unfamiliar images shimmered at the edge of his mind and, Adrian hazily perceived, even his ears were playing tricks on him. Why did it sound as though the door to his room clicked open?
Jerking his eyes open, Adrian tried to will away his hallucination. But instead, it only became more vivid and disturbing. Tiffany Philips appeared at his bedside and now, even worse, the mattress dipped and she curled up beside him and began stroking his arm.
Could this be real?
Clumsily struggling to sit up, Adrian slurred, "What're you doing here?"
Tiffany's hand slid up to his shoulder and pushed him flat on his back. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten? You let me in, silly." Adrian quit struggling, desperately trying to remember. Tiffany traced her fingers along the muscles of his bicep and cooed sympathetically, "I'm not surprised Natalie tossed you out of her room…that hunky stripper wore her out."
"Wh- what? No!" Adrian shook his head and his whole world reeled violently. No, it wasn't possible….this was a nightmare within a nightmare.
Splaying her hand across his cheek, Tiffany turned his face and forced his gaze to meet hers, "Yes, Natalie had herself a little fling." She then leaned close and seductively whispered, "Let's even things up, Adrian."
Unable to breathe, he quickly twisted his face away and slammed his eyes shut. This was just a horrendous, lurid delusion! None of this was real- not the smell of her perfume, not the hand traveling down his chest, and especially not the lips trailing kisses along his neck…
The exact order of what happened next would forever remain a mystery to the intoxicated groom. But it seemed as though the room's lights flicked on just as Natalie's scream filled the room. Then, along with Natalie's incoherent shrieks, Leland's angry voice and Tiffany's laughter intensified the commotion.
Remaining motionless, Adrian felt the mattress shift as Tiffany languidly rose from the bed. She slinked toward the door, her sultry voice clearly conveying her amusement with the situation. The door's slam shot through the room and Natalie and Leland's voices turned from angry and fretful to soft and solicitous.
Natalie perched on the bed and Adrian, jolted by the tiny movement, cautiously opened his eyes. Through his dreamy, dizzy lethargy, as soon as he met her gaze, Adrian felt unspoken reassurances and declarations of love thunderbolt between them. No matter the misunderstandings, and despite the meddling of Tiffany Philips, their future would always be unshakable.
As Natalie's lips touched his forehead, Adrian's world fell away. Slipping to sleep woozy and weak, his heart pounded steady, eager for the future yet relaxed and at peace.
And while tomorrow, the eve of the wedding, would be easy- filled with joy and love and contentment- unbeknownst to the now-slumbering groom, it would also bring conflict and resolution and, lamentably, one staggering hangover.
A/N: LOL, guess it's time to start writing the next chapter~ I hope Adrian packed plenty of aspirin...and back-up aspirin...