As we pull up to the front of the hotel, I occupy myself by watching Crystal through the rear-view mirror and fidgeting with my fingers. Crystal has her nose pressed firmly against the freezing glass of the window. I chuckle, wondering where I found such a personified dog. 

"Do you have your invitation with you, Anastasia?" 47 asks me as he brings the car to a park in front of where a fancy looking valet is standing just outside of the hotel. 

"Yes, sir." I respond as I somewhat awkwardly pull the envelope with the invitation in it from my bra and present it to him. He does nothing but nod toward it in acknowledgement.

"Good," he says as the two of us step out of the car, "because we'll need it to get into the party."

I nod my head in understanding as he hands the keys over to the valet and gets our two luggage bags out of the trunk. I open up the door to the backseat and Crystal jumps out excitedly with her leash already in her mouth. Her tail wags rapidly as she offers it to me. I can't help letting out a giggle at her. Taking the leash from between her teeth, I smile and wait for 47 to come around. As he does so and shuts the trunk, the valet takes the car around to the parking lot. Crystal is already a little ways in front of us as she constantly sniffs at the ground.  

I don't know exactly how to express my feelings toward having to pretend to be married to 47 again, but I can't say that I'm complaining, if I'm being honest here. Still, I think it's going to take a little while before I get used to referring to him as "Tobias" again. 

"Crystal, heel." I murmur as she tries to get more ahead of us than her leash will allow her to go. She glances at me over her shoulder, giving me an apologetic expression.

When the three of us get inside, we are greeted by the beautiful sight of elegance. The lobby was a widely open area, with one staircase leading upwards that split into two more staircases that lead to either side of one of the upstairs floors. The walls were marble, adorning beautiful white wallpaper with a golden trimming. A large sum of people congregated in the corner and, for some reason, it had been nearly all eyes on us since we walked in. This only caused me to grip tighter onto Crystal's leash.

"Remember, we're pretending that we're on our honeymoon for now." 47 whispers lowly, almost huskily, into my ear. I shiver softly.

Then it occurs to me that I totally forgot that we're supposed to pretend to be a newly-wedded couple. A soft tinge of red forms itself across my cheeks as I try to brush it off as nothing more than the cold from outside. 47 cocks an eyebrow when he notices the sudden redness forming.

"Are you alright, Anastasia?" He asks me with his normal stoic tone of voice.

I nod my head, "Yes, I'm fine." I respond, knowing full well it's not entirely the truth. "The cold is just stinging my cheeks. It's a downside to being as pale as I am." I chuckle at my own joke, but 47 gives me an expression that seems to say he's not buying it.

"Are you certain?" His tone of voice sounds genuinely worried about me, but I don't think that's possible.

I wasn't; not by a longshot, but I didn't want him to know that. "Yes, Tobias, I am." I flash him a genuine smile, clutching Crystal's leash tightly in my hands. "Should we get ourselves checked in, then?" I ask him, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Yes, we should. We haven't the time to waste." He waits patiently for me to walk forward first before he follows behind me. Without making eye contact with anyone, I approach the receptionist's desk.

The receptionist is a tiny woman with dark brown hair and a frail, mousy build. She smiles at the two of us as we approach the desk. At first, she addresses us in Russian, but soon realizes that I don't speak Russian.

"How may I help you?" She asks, her accent thicker than paint.

"We're here to check in." I speak calmly, despite my nerves being out of whack. I'll never understand why my anxiety acts up whenever I have to talk to anyone I don't know. . . To be honest, it's always something that I've loathed about myself.

"Can I get the name you registered under, please?" She gives me a warm and welcoming smile. For whatever reason, I freeze there.

"It should be registered under Tobias Rieper." 47 chimes in suddenly, probably noticing my sudden unease in my demeanor. I thank God for that intervention. What is wrong with me?

"Oh, yes, here you are!" She says with a smile, after looking through the registry for roughly five seconds. She then turns around and plucks a keyring off the wall behind her before she drops it carefully in the palm of 47's hand. "You will be in the honeymoon suite 75A. It's up the first flight of stairs and to the left. A bellhop can carry your luggage and escort you there." She giggles and then winks at me. "There is a party being hosted in the Tsvetok Ballroom tonight, as well as a dinner that everyone is welcome to. We also offer a breakfast buffet from seven to eleven everyday. The pool and hot tubs are located off to the left of here. You just walk through that door and it'll take you right to the spa." She uses a finger to point at a door closer to the one we used to get in the building. "If you need anything, just ask. Other than that, enjoy your stay!"

"Shall we then, hun?" Hearing him call me an endearing name like that makes my heart flutter. He offers me an arm, obviously expecting me to play along and hook my arm with his. Without hesitating, I wrap my arm around his and he makes sure that I'm secure there.

"Come on, Crystal." I murmur, giving her leash a light tug. Immediately, she arises from where she had been sitting and starts following along next to us. Her nose is pressed firmly to the ground as she does what dogs do and sniff about. "You can explore later. Right now, though, we have things to do."

She gives me a disdained expression, and purposefully allows her ears to drape. My face contorts into an expression of guilt, irritation, and defeat.

"Don't give me that look. You knew that we were going to be busy on this trip." She whines as she continues to pout at me. "Look, we can explore more later, but we have to get settled in first." She snorts at me. I snort at her in return. "You don't want to go into time-out, do you?"

When she lifts her ears in a humorous manner, I realize that I've won the argument.

"Are you going to behave, then?" She nods.

47, Crystal, and I proceed up the staircase and down a hallway to where our room is to be located. Honestly, I think it's going to be embarrassing walking into this honeymoon suite with 47, especially considering the fantasies I've been having recently. . . Diana would probably be spitting hot coals if she finds out that I'm developing a crush that shouldn't even be developing in the first place. Other people may think we're fornicating in here, but I highly doubt that that's going to happen. 47 doesn't exactly seem like the relationship-type family man, in my opinion.

47 uses the key he received from the hostess to unlock our door; he pushes it open after turning the knob, waiting for me to walk in first. I flash him a bashful smile, wasting no time in escorting myself and Crystal in before him. He then ushers himself in and closes the door behind him. Right in the center of the room is a king-sized, heart-shaped bed with a fancy flat screen television set on a T.V. stand in front of it. Off to our left is the bathroom, as well as a closet where I'm assuming we can store our luggage for the duration of the time that we are going to reside here. A kitchenette, which includes a stove, refrigerator, microwave, etcetera, lies in the corner near what I can assume would be the living room area. Everything is fancy; the sheets are a fancy pearly white, with an adorable golden trimming. The pillow cases are of the same color, except they have an embroidered and detailed symbol right on the spot where a person would rest their head. The carpet has the texture of soft shag, but it's not as annoyingly long as one would think of a shag carpet. Everything in this room just screams 'People come here for their honeymoon solely to have sex on a vibrating bed.' I blush uncontrollably at the thought.

With Crystal's leash still in my hand, I stride over quietly to seat myself on the heart-shaped mattress as 47 sets our luggage carefully in the closet. Crystal sits herself down patiently in front of me, nudging my hand as she wags her tail. I take the hint that she wants it off, so I unhook it from the harness attached to her vest. Her tail begins wagging faster once I do so, and she wastes no time in gallivanting around the room with her nose glued right into the floor.

I shake my head, letting out barely an audible chuckle as I watch her do this. Because I've never really taken her out of the country before, except maybe once or twice, she's really ecstatic about being here. Every few seconds, she lifts her head to look over at me. Obviously, she's wondering if I'm having just as much fun here as she is. I would be having a lot more fun if 47 and I were here under different circumstances. . .

Yeah, you could also try not thinking about his dick like you're a prepubescence teenager. My brows knit themselves together to make an angry expression when my own thoughts whisper this in the back of my mind. "Why don't you shut up in there?" I mumble to myself, holding back a grumble. I don't want 47 to know that I'm a weirdo who talks to herself sometimes.

"Is something bothering you, Anastasia?" 47's voice snaps me out of my thoughts once more, and it takes everything in me to force myself not to jump at the sound of his words. When I look up at him, it suddenly occurs to me that I'm still making the same expression.

Not wanting to admit anything, I give him a plain and simple answer, "Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" I'm trying my hardest to play it off. I really don't feel like he's buying it, though. Crystal gives me a sideways glance, and I swear I can see her shaking her head back and forth at me condescendingly. Really, I wanna just tell her to shut up.

"You just seem like you've got something on your mind. It's almost as if you're lost in thought." He places his hands in his lap carefully as he seats himself down next to me on the bed. "There's nothing wrong, is there?" His words seems so sincere, and despite the fact that his voice is so monotone, the words roll off his tongue the way silk sheets roll off the mattress.

To answer his question, I just shake my head back and forth. There's absolutely no use in making him "worry" about me, so there's no point in telling him what's on my mind. Well, the thought of experiencing what it's like to be a newlywed is nice. . . However, I'm not entirely sure if he'd go for something like that, especially considering that we're on one of the most important missions we've ever been on. I think? Perhaps I'm just discombobulated. My lust for 47 can't be a detriment to us right now; we can't afford for it to be. Still, I can't help but wonder how he is in bed. Would it be such a bad thing to want to try him out?

Without entirely realizing what I was doing, I had placed my hand so close to his own, it was nearly on top of it. Humming to myself, I absentmindedly brushed the fingers of my left hand through my wild, thickening curls. It wasn't until I felt my thumb stroking something that wasn't the comforter or the mattress when I realize that my hand had seemingly placed itself atop 47's. The deepest blush my body has ever created began forming itself across my cheeks as I tentatively retracted it.

"S. . . Sorry. . ." My voice was trembling as I stammered out the apology barely above a whisper. "I, um. . ." To be honest, it was hard finding an excuse for my actions. I don't think he'll be happy with me if I just say 'Oh, yeah, I was thinking about you and I guess I placed my hand on yours by complete accident; whoops.' Releasing a breath from my nostrils, I finally think of something to say again, "I really didn't mean to do that." The bed shifts in weight beside me, and as I glance over my shoulder, I notice that the weight is Crystal. She has this peculiar glint in her pupils that I can't quite put my finger on.

"What—" Before he even gets to finish his sentence, it's like something cut him off completely. It takes me a few moments to realize that Crystal shoved herself into my back, which caused me to be pushed forward into his arms. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but when I realize that our lips are firmly pressed together, my skin becomes porcelain pale, which makes the deepening blush that much more noticeable. When I try to push away from him, this causes Crystal to just keep firmly using her own weight against mine. 47 seems to notice this as well, for his brows rise in slight surprise. However, he has this look in his eyes that makes it seem like he's enjoying it. . . I think I'm just imagining things again, though.

I find myself getting lost further into the kiss; it even causes me to allow my eyelids to drift themselves closed. I didn't care about anything in this moment but this one kiss we shared. It was wrong, I know, but I just couldn't help it. When the two of us were finally able to pull away from each other, I felt a little empty. Even though the kiss lasted a few moments at most, it felt like forever to me. I wish it didn't have to end.

"That was. . ." I rack my brain for a minute or two, trying to find words to add to that incomplete statement. "Wow. . ." Turning my head slightly to the side, I give Crystal the dirtiest glare that I can possibly muster.

Crystal snubs her nose at me, however, I notice that her jowls form themselves into the most mischievous smirk I've ever seen. This little brat is the reason I was so embarrassed just now! Scoffing, I just shook my head inwardly with a soft smile. I can thank her for allowing me to have a kiss that will live with me. I only wish we'd be able to do more. . .