Politically Incorrect (36 page)

“What?” I asked, astonished that I didn’t feel exposed in front of him. He could see me. Everything about me, down to the stretch marks I had from when I gave birth to Jordyn, and still I didn’t feel exposed. With him, I felt protected. Wanted. Desired.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he purred. “Absolutely stunning.” He placed his fingertip at my throat and slipped it down between my breasts, over my stomach, stopping just short of where I wanted to feel him.

He removed his hands from my body and rushed to strip out of his clothes. I lifted to my knees and with each inch of skin he revealed, I placed soft kisses on his bare body. He moaned as I flicked my tongue over his skin. All I wanted was to know him again. Memorize him. Every inch of him. I couldn’t help myself. There was a power growing between us that consumed me. This wasn’t merely sex. It was more. Much, much more.

Once naked, Liam shifted, pushing me gently back down on the bed. He hovered over me, taking the opportunity to simply be in the moment. I reached up, gently caressing his face. Liam closed his eyes and leaned into my hand. Our breathing was steady but heavy. Our hearts pounded in our chests. Power escalated between us.

I hissed through my teeth as he moved his hands down my chest and squeezed my breasts. He ran his thumbs over my stiff nipples, soft and sweet, causing them to harden further. I squirmed beneath him, loving the sensation and feel of his erection against my stomach. Liam tilted his head and flicked his tongue over my aching pebble. My eyes rolled back, caught up in the pure pleasure of the moment.

He took it slow. Meticulous. Time didn’t matter to him. The world would wait on us. All he cared about was being with me. He teased me, lavished me with such tenderness I thought my heart might shatter. Our bodies talked, sang, connected us to the universe, restored our souls.

“Oh God,” I gasped, as he moved his face between my thighs.

Liam linked his arms around my legs, hoisting my hips up. I grabbed a pillow and shoved it over my head to scream as he dipped his tongue deep into me. He grazed his teeth across my sensitive need followed by a circle of his tongue to soothe the momentary pain. Over and over again he tasted me until I was shaking in his arms.

“You know why I love going down on you?” he mumbled against me. He reached around on the bed, fumbling for the condom he knew was there.

I removed the pillow, breathing heavily. “Why?”

Liam released my legs, rolled on the condom, and moved back up the length of my body. I could feel his throbbing erection at my center. “Because when I do this...” He shoved himself inside me. Instantly I fell over the brink. I gripped his hair in my hands, crying out as passion consumed me. He pressed his mouth to mine, pumping hard and fast. “You do that…” he finished against my lips.

Moments later he found his own release, but it was different. There was a sweetness in the way he kissed me as his climax tore through him. When he rolled over and removed the condom, I no longer felt a sense of loss like I usually did when he pulled out of me. This time I felt complete.

He drew me to him, laying my head to his bare chest. “Well that was unexpected.”

I lifted my head, resting my elbow in its place. “So much for keeping things professional until you’re elected.”

Liam tweaked my nose. “Yeah, but we were only doing that so the media wouldn’t catch us.”

“True. True.”

I touched my fingers to his face, tracing along the scar over his eye. “Where’d you get this?” I asked.

He probed his fingers where mine were. “I got into a fight in the eighth grade. I’ll never forget the kid. He was such an ass.” He chuckled. “He was interested in Kris and she didn’t feel the same. He tried to kiss her and when she said no, he proceeded to force her. I found them and whooped his ass, but not before he got a good punch in on me.”

I smiled and pressed my lips to his scar. “Always protecting the women you love.” I stiffened as the words fell from my lips.

Dammit!

I didn’t mean to say that. It just came out.

Liam pulled back a little, meeting my eyes. His smile tugged at his lips. “You could say that.”

There was a loud knock at the door.

Liam looked over my head and then back at me. “That’s my ride. I was supposed to be downstairs fifteen minutes ago.”

“Oh, shit!” I tried to jump up but he held me to his chest.

“I still wish you’d come with me, but I understand why you’re not.”

I sighed as his lips found mine in a kiss, chaste and sweet, but full of meaning. “Thank you for understanding.”

“You’ll at least watch me, right? I’ll feel better knowing you’re watching.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Now go knock ‘em dead.”

“Don’t you mean, knock it out of the park?” he teased.

I smacked his chest and laughed. “Yeah. That’s exactly what I mean.”

I watched as Liam left then managed to sneak out of his hotel room without being noticed.

That was a feat in and of itself, but I succeeded.

Thank God for a history of backdoor exits.

Back at the Lone Star Ranch, I slipped in the front door, high on having spent some quality time with Liam.

I unfastened my blazer and untucked my camisole from my slacks. The house was quiet save the click of my heels on the hardwood floors. I sauntered down the hall toward the den to watch Liam’s interview.

“Bet, is that you?” Harper’s Texas twang echoed from his office. I jumped, startled to find I wasn’t alone in the house.

I diverted my route to his study and popped my head inside. “Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t realize you were home.”

Harper leaned back in his oversized leather chair, crossing his arms behind his head. “No worries. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t some crazy stalker who snuck into the house with Ivory gone.”

“Ivory’s out?” I lumbered into his office. It was much like the den, all dark woods, animal heads, and earth tones. The walls were covered in bookshelves filled with volumes upon volumes of books of all genres. If it wasn’t for the creepy heads and bearskin rug, his office would’ve been my favorite room of the house. Across from his desk sat two high-backed leather chairs. I plopped down in one, crossing my legs at the ankles.

“Yeah. He went home for a few weeks. His daughter’s having a baby.”

“That’s wonderful!”

Harper ruffled the hair at the back of his head. “Depends on how you look at it. I think this is like her fourth kid or something.”

“Wow! You’d think by now she’d figure out what’s causing that issue.”

“I keep telling Ivory he needs to buy her a Netflix subscription.”

“Binge watching. The world’s most effective birth control.”

We both had a good laugh at poor Ivory’s daughter’s expense. When the laughter died down, I leaned forward and placed my elbows on Harper’s desk, resting my chin in my hands. “We’re good, right?”

Harper let out a long sigh. All of the lightheartedness was syphoned from the room. “Why him, Bet? You know better than to get involved with a politician? I mean, look what’s already happened.”

I shrugged, not knowing how to explain. “I didn’t plan for it to happen. It just did.”

Harper pushed forward, his face so close to mine that I could smell the scotch and peppermint on his breath. “Which part?”

I tilted my head, my brow crinkled. “What do you mean?”

Harper jumped up from his chair. He crossed his arms behind his back and started to pace the floor. For a moment I was reminded of Liam. “What I mean is, you didn’t plan on having sex with him or you didn’t plan on falling in love with him?” The bite in his inflection cut me to the core.

Cold chills formed over my skin. I dropped my head down and closed my eyes. “Both.”

“Jesus Christ, Bet! You can’t seriously tell me you’re in love with the kid.”

I sprang from my chair, my stance taut and ready to fight. “He’s not a kid, Guy. Believe me when I say he’s all man.”

“His balls have barely dropped,” he sneered.

It wasn’t too long ago I’d said something quite similar to that statement. I was wrong then and Harper was wrong now.

I shook my head in disbelief. “You had no problem with his age when you introduced him to me as a potential client. What changed?”

Harper threw his hands in the air. “You changed!”

“How? How have I changed?” My voice shook with anger.

He moved closer, allowing me to see the ire outlining his pupils. “You used to tell me you’d rather be dead than get involved with a politician. They couldn’t be trusted, you said. And now look at you. You’re acting like a lovesick teenager over one. What is it about him, huh? Does he make you feel young? Is this some sort of
phase
for you? Like a mid-life crisis or something?”

I stepped back, barely able to keep the bile down in my stomach. “Why are you acting this way? You’re supposed to be my friend.”

“Am I? Am I your friend? Because the way I see it, I haven’t been your friend for a long time now. He took my place. Or haven’t you noticed?”

“No one’s taken anybody’s place.”

Harper slammed his fist into the wall. “Bull shit. I saw the way you two acted around each other when you were on the trail…” A low, dejected chuckle sniffed from his nose.

“Funny you say that, because there really wasn’t anything going on then.”

Harper covered his eyes with his hand, applying pressure to his forehead with his index finger and thumb. “Maybe not, but it didn’t take long for it to start afterward, now did it?”

He had me there. “No,” I admitted. “It didn’t. But in my defense, I can’t help who I fall in love with.”

Wow! That felt good. Saying those words out loud made them all the more real to me.

Although, by the look on Harper’s face, he didn’t share in my relief.

He jammed his hands into his jeans pockets and dropped his chin to his chest. There was a slight lift and fall in his shoulders as his head shook. “You’re right. You can’t.” Harper drew in a long, deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry I’ve been such an ass lately. I know with everything going on you needed me and I haven’t been here for you.”

I fidgeted with my sleeve cuff. Mushy stuff always left me a little unnerved. “It’s okay. I haven’t been the best of friend to you either.”

Harper crossed the great divide between us and pulled me into his arms. I wrapped my arms up around his back and let him hold me for a moment. Unlike with Liam, I didn’t feel a sliver of safety in Harper’s embrace, but it was still comforting to have my friend back.

Harper curled a lock of my hair around his finger. “We’re both shitty friends,” he teased.

“That we are. But I think we’ve known each other long enough to get past our shitty ways.”

He chucked my chin, and clicked his tongue. “Most definitely.” Harper released me and moved back around his desk. “By the way, why are you here? I was under the impression you’d be at the studio with Baxter for his interview.”

I swayed in place, hating that I wasn’t there and the fact that my fight with Harper was keeping me from seeing the interview. “To put if frank, I’m a chicken shit.” I wilted into the chair with a huff.

Harper propped his chin in his hand, rubbing the day old scruff along his jaw. “No you’re not. You’re just in uncharted waters.”

“Understatement of the year, my friend.”

“So, tell me, as Elizabeth McNeal the greatest political consultant of our times, not the woman who finds herself in a sticky situation, what are you going to do?”

I dragged my foot across the bearskin rug. It felt nice talking to Harper. He knew how to speak to me. “For starters, I should watch his interview. We both know Masters has a tendency for crassness.”

Harper nodded. “That man made Hillary Clinton cry. And I didn’t think it was possible for robots to have feelings.”

“I know! He’s a scary twerp.” I created a circle in the poor animal’s fur. If it had been alive, it would’ve mauled me over sheer discomfort. “Which is why I should be watching. Honestly, I should’ve swallowed my pride and gone.” I sighed. “But I know Scout and Aaron will take good care of him.”