“James! Who’s that woman with you?”

“Excuse me, Miss, are you from England?”

“What’s her name? What is the status of your relationship?” One fan was even proposing to James. He was used to being interrogated about his performances in the pool, but these questions were blunt and straight to the point and some were downright rude. But worst of all they were about his personal life. James quickly became infuriated, as he wished that everyone would just leave them in peace.

James stood his ground, determined not to answer anything that would compromise their privacy. “If you don’t mind, I have a big day tomorrow and right now I would just like to go home and get some sleep. Thank you.” Once again James groped behind him for Anna’s hand. As soon as he found it he began pushing his way through the sea of journalists towards the awaiting taxi. James clambered into the back seat, dragging Anna in beside him.

“Where to, sir?” the driver asked politely.

“Chesterfield Castle, thanks,” James instructed, wrapping his arms around Anna. They were sitting so close that she was almost in his lap. James just sat there in silence, staring out the window at the snow covered surroundings, stroking Anna’s hair tenderly.

When the taxi arrived at the castle, James asked the driver for his discretion. With the driver’s quick agreement, James handed him a very generous tip. Forgetting his exhaustion, James carried Anna through the doors and up the stairs. He was hoping that they could simply disappear into Anna’s room and not see or hear from anybody until morning. But James knew that was way too much to wish for as his mother walked into the hallway.

“Hi Mum. It’s so nice to see you,” he said sarcastically.

“Very funny, son. Actually, I would like to talk to you for a moment if you don’t mind.” James rolled his eyes at his mother’s request. Usually James didn’t mind talking to his mother, but tonight it was different. Tonight was his wedding night and his mother wasn’t the woman that he wanted to spend time with.

“I’ll leave you to it. You know where I am when you’re finished.” Anna smiled seductively. James put her down and kissed her hand before she disappeared through her door.

James followed his mother into her room and plopped himself down in the centre of her bed with a heavy sigh. He was anxious to get this conversation over and done with as quickly as possible so he could get back to his wife. “Yes, Mother. What can I do for you?”

“Nothing, actually. It’s what I can do for you.” James shot his mother a puzzled look. “When we return to Australia, as you know you will be marrying Anna. Again. Your father and I have been talking and as our gift to you we would like to send you and Anna on a proper honeymoon. We’ll send you anywhere you want to go.”

James was elated that his parents would do this for them; however he was more than annoyed that they had decided that now was the perfect time to bring this up. They weren’t returning to Australia for almost three weeks yet they were already planning what the next step was. All James wanted to concentrate on was what he was going to be doing for the next few hours. “Thanks. That would be great,” the sarcasm dripped off his tongue.

“Before you get too excited. There’s one condition,” Michael interrupted.

“What would that be? Win more gold medals? Break more world records? Be nicer to Joel? What is it? Come on. Spit it out. What’s the condition?” James questioned impatiently.

“You have to leave right now. Go back to the team hotel and stay with them until the meet is over. We don’t want you to risk losing something you have worked so hard for just for a perfect night with your new wife.” James was sent spinning in a state of shock. Were his parents blackmailing him into not walking directly across the hall and climbing into bed with his wife? That was the one thing that he had most been looking forward to all day. Sure the gold medals and world records were great, but he would never again get another wedding night. It was something he had waited for, for years. It was something that he wanted more than anything else. Anna was what he wanted more than anything else.

“Are you really trying to tell me that I can’t get laid by my hot, new wife on my wedding night? You know that Anna and I have put this off until we were married and now that we are married, you still expect me to restrain myself? As much as I don’t want to have this conversation with you, there is something that you need to understand. I don’t think I have the will power to do that. And I don’t want to either,” James snapped bluntly.

“James, you have to swim three heats and possibly two finals tomorrow. Do you really think you can afford to ‘get laid,’ as you so delicately put it? Or do you think you would be better off getting some sleep?” James saw that his mother had a point, but he still couldn’t hide his frustration.

“Okay. Fine. You win. Can I at least go and say goodnight before you banish me?” James was clearly unimpressed with his parents, but he reluctantly agreed.

“I think that would be wise,” Diana agreed. She gave James a kiss on the head, leaving a bright red blaze behind. “Goodnight, son. See you tomorrow.”

James trudged out of the room, closing the door behind him. Standing alone in the corridor, James took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. It was going to take every ounce of strength and will power that he could muster to walk away from Anna tonight. With another deep breath he entered her room.

Entering the room, James called out to her but got no response. He checked the bathroom and the living room, before wandering into the bedroom. Sucking in another deep breath, James saw her. Anna was lying beneath pure white sheets, sleeping soundly. She was completely naked. Her hair was spread out covering one of the pillows and all her curls were sitting perfectly. She looked like an angel from a magazine shoot. Her breathing was steady and constant. She lay facing James, her lips slightly parted. My Princess. She looks like a dream, James thought.

He was desperate to wake her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was. He wanted to touch her. He wanted her to touch him. He knew it was cruel to wake her but that didn’t stop him from wanting to. Something cramped his stomach and made him feel alive. It was the same overwhelming feeling that had consumed him a handful of nights ago. Yet this time it was different. It was more intense. More consuming. More desperate.

He sat down gently on the bed beside her. Carefully he trailed his fingers across her bare shoulders. Her skin was so soft to touch it was almost silky. He leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the tip of her nose. Her eyes fluttered at his touch but remained closed. He stood up and moved towards the door. With one final look back, the image of what he was giving up burned in his mind forever, he vanished out the door and into the night.

Half an hour later he stumbled into his own hotel room. Tripping over the wet towels thrown haphazardly on the floor, he fell with a thump. Ian woke up instantly. “Sorry, mate,” James apologised, scrambling to his feet.

Ian was half-asleep but that was all he needed to give James a hard time. “What? Did your missus kick you out already? I thought you would have spent the night at her place,” he niggled, giving James a sly smile.

“I don’t do things like that,” James joined in the friendly banter, trying desperately to hide the truth.

“Well, you’re a bigger idiot than I thought. If my wife looked half as hot as yours I would never let her out of my sight. She’s sex on legs.” Ian had completely woken and was now firing at top speed.

“Hey! Watch what you’re saying about my wife.” James laughed. Bloody bastard’s right, though, James muttered to himself. Why the hell did I leave her just to follow a black line? Spending the night with Anna would be much more enjoyable.