Josh's Fake Fiancee (Military Men Book 5)

by Shelley Munro

  “Have you decided on a wedding date?”

  “We’re not discussing that until the election is over. One thing at a time. Are there any questions concerning our policies? That’s what I’m here for—to answer questions.”

  A skinny male reporter jumped to his feet. “I understand shots were fired on your property late this afternoon, and the police were called. Was this a domestic dispute between you and your fiancé? Is that why he isn’t here?”

  “I’m here,” Josh called from the back of the room. “We heard shots too, but I’ve no idea what they were or where they came from.” He flashed a grin, looking suave in his black suit while the sexy scruff on his cheeks gave him an edge of danger. “It wasn’t us arguing, that’s for sure.”

  Several people tittered, and the women closest to Ashley whispered amongst each other.

  “As you can see—my fiancé is here. We’re not arguing or having domestic disputes. Josh and I are very happy together,” Ashley said. “Now, political type questions. Does anyone have one?” Ashley scanned the room, praying for a sensible question. The male candidates didn’t receive this kind of crap, and it irked her something fierce.

  “Will you be conducting a roundtable and discussing your proposals further or does your party intend to take immediate action with the apprenticeship scheme for young people?”

  “Some of our youngsters want to attend university and study for degrees while others are more practical and prefer to work in a trade. We intend to fund a year of free education at university, so it only seems fair to do the same for apprenticeships. Both policies will start at the beginning of the new year to coincide with the school term.”

  Ashley fielded a few more questions, before thanking the crowd for attending. “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak about our policies. Have a wonderful evening.”

  She retreated to her table and sipped her water.

  “Great speech.” Josh took possession of her hand and squeezed it. “I heard part of it from outside.”

  “Are you okay?” A whisper so no one overheard or jumped to conclusions. No one looking at him in his black suit would guess a man had shot at him earlier. “How did you get here?”

  “Nikolai drove me. Summer insisted he check on me. My arm is dressed, and although I’ll end up with a scar, there isn’t any other damage.”

  “I’m in a scary movie. This man is out of control.”

  “We’re doing our best to keep you safe. The police are checking on leads. At least they’re taking the threat seriously now.”

  “Yes, but you almost died today.” She scanned his black suit and the pale blue shirt that brought out the blue of his eyes. “You look wonderful.” She reached up to straighten his black-and-blue tie and gave into the temptation to run her fingers over his jawline. His facial hair tickled her fingertips. “Very sexy. It makes a woman imagine what you might look like out of your suit.”

  He grinned. “You’re the only woman who has a chance of finding out.”

  “Promises, promises,” she murmured.

  “Excuse me,” a masculine voice interrupted.

  Ashley turned, and as she did, she noticed Nelson and Gerry stood close at hand. “Can I help you?” she asked, recognizing the reporter who had asked about the shooting earlier.

  “New posts have popped up online this evening.”

  Ashley froze. “What sort of posts?”

  “Accusing you of holding back information the public has a right to learn. What secrets are you covering up?”

  “I honestly have no idea what you mean,” Ashley said. “Excuse me. I have another engagement.”

  “So you’re denying everything the poster is accusing you of?”

  “Someone is attempting to derail my campaign. I have nothing in my background to concern me and have the full confidence of my fellow colleagues. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have chosen me to lead the party into this election. Now, please excuse me. I’ll say my goodbyes and leave or I’ll be late.”

  Ashley plucked her jacket off the back of the chair and shrugged into it. “Ah, there is Jenny, our host for the evening. I’ll say goodbye to her. Did you have something to eat? I’ll have to grab something before we get to our next engagement otherwise my stomach will grumble all the way through the movie.”

  Josh ignored the faint throb of his arm as he checked and rechecked those standing around Ashley. Now that her stalker had used a gun, it made protecting her more difficult. He didn’t relax until they were inside the vehicle, and he noticed the DPS officers were on edge too.

  “Do you have any outdoor meet and greets this week?” Josh asked.

  “Yes. I’m visiting a farm in Northland and several in the Waikato. I’m scheduled to visit a new farmers’ market in Pukekohe. I have several engagements in the rural sector.”

  “We’ll have to increase security measures at each venue,” Nelson said.

  “Maybe we should come clean about Josh getting shot,” Gerry suggested. “That way, the public might help us keep an eye out for anyone carrying a gun.”

  “What if it keeps voters away? It’s important to meet as many of the voting public as possible. That’s the purpose of a campaign.” Ashley blew out a breath. “What type of gun did he use?”

  “A rifle,” Josh said. “He’ll look out of place toting one of those around the city.”

  “He knows where Ashley will be each day. That’s the problem.” Gerry said.

  “He didn’t shoot at me, though. He shot at Josh. What if I’m not the target but Josh is?”

  “I haven’t been home long enough to piss off anyone,” Josh said. “Besides, you were receiving odd notes and dead flowers before I arrived in Auckland.”

  “That’s true,” Nelson said. “It might simply be that your stalker wants Josh out of the way or wishes to hurt you as much as he can. Removing your fiancé would do that. A public figure such as yourself is under scrutiny from the press twenty-four/seven. You’d need to mourn in public while doing your job.”

  “That theory makes more sense,” Josh agreed.

  Ashley shuddered. “I don’t understand. What have I done to cause someone so much pain they’re willing to go to these lengths to hurt me?”

  Josh took her hand, which was icy cold, despite the warm vehicle interior. He wove their fingers together and squeezed lightly in silent commiseration.

  “We’re looking at every angle,” Nelson soothed. “But the truth is sometimes people are strange. They take offense at the smallest thing and an insult snowballs inside their head until it becomes a life and death matter. You might have smiled at the wrong time or ignored a question. You might’ve done a dozen different things to upset your stalker.”

  “He’s accusing me of murder,” Ashley said with quiet dignity. “Which simply isn’t true. Murder is not a little thing. That last reporter intimated there were new posts.”

  “More posts?” Gerry pulled out his phone and scrolled. “Yep, more posts. We’ve spoken to the social media company. They say this person has opened new accounts. When they check the name and address details of the users, they’re fake, yet their systems don’t catch them until later when they scratch below the surface. None of their bots or machine learning is picking up these false accounts.”

  “What do I do?” Ashley asked.

  “Carry on as you have been,” Josh encouraged. “You’ve publicly labeled him a bully, which is basically the truth.”

  “I agree.” Nelson nodded in approval. “Until he makes his next move, we can’t do a thing. We have to catch him breaking the law.”

  “What if he kills someone before you catch him?” Ashley asked. “I don’t want anyone to die. It was bad enough that Josh—” She swallowed hard. “Josh came close to being seriously hurt this afternoon.”

  “Ashley, try not to worry. Continue doing your job, and we’ll do ours,” Nelson said.

  By the time they arrived back home, Ashley was exhausted. Her stalker was interrupting her sl
eep and that, plus her long days, was catching up on her.

  Used to the routine now, Ashley waited in the vehicle with Nelson while Gerry and Josh checked the house. The new security lights had come on when Nelson nosed the car into its normal parking space at the rear of her home.

  Ashley scanned the areas of her garden still in shadows, anxiety doing a number on her stomach. It churned while her pulse raced. She hated this. This was New Zealand. People didn’t, as a rule, go around shooting each other with guns.

  A light came on inside the house, and Josh returned to the entrance. He nodded, and Ashley waited for Gerry to come around and open the door for her.

  “Anyone want a hot chocolate before they go to bed?” Ashley asked.

  “I’ll make it,” Josh said.

  “But I make it a special way—”

  “Frog told me one night when we were on watch together. I know how to do it. Go. Get ready for bed, and I’ll make the hot chocolate.”

  Ashley didn’t argue any further. If the hot chocolate wasn’t up to her standards, she didn’t need to drink it.

  “She’s scared,” Nelson said.

  “Wouldn’t you be?” Josh asked as he opened the pantry to grab hot chocolate ingredients. “We’re no closer to discovering the person responsible. We’ve probed her background, and apart from the accident where her passenger died, nothing jumps out at us.”

  “We’ve looked into that too,” Gerry admitted. “She took responsibility and did her community service. We’ve tracked the family, and they say they bear her no malice. It was an accident. The only one we haven’t spoken to is the young boy.”

  “We have someone checking on him,” Nelson said. “I mean her.”

  Josh heated the milk, added the chocolate mix, and whisked everything together. Next, he poured the frothy liquid into mugs and dropped in marshmallows. “There you go. I’ll see you nice and bright in the morning. I’ll text you the details of what my sister discovered in a few minutes. That will give you something to work on before your official details come through.”

  “Thanks for the hot chocolate,” Gerry said.

  “Goodnight,” Nelson said.

  When Josh entered the room, Ashley sat on the bed, still fully dressed. Her eyes were damp when she turned in his direction.

  “I’m scared, Josh. You got hurt today because of me. What if the man had shot at your sister or your nephew? What if this stalker hurts someone else? Should I step away from the campaign?”

  “Sweetheart.” Josh strode over, set down the hot chocolate, and hauled Ashley into his arms. “I’m fine.”

  “This time,” she retorted. “I couldn’t concentrate on the movie. All I could think of was the consequences of having a stalker. Maybe if I back from the public spotlight, he’ll stop.”

  “That’s silly talk. Use that beautiful brain of yours. This man, whoever he is, won’t stop until he gets what he wants.”

  She stiffened in his arms. “Me.”

  “Yes.”

  “Ashley, you’ve always wanted to be a politician. You can’t let this man derail your life. Your dreams.”

  “Well, what do I do? I’d hate for someone else to get injured.”

  “Nelson, Gerry, and I are working to keep you and everyone else safe. Is there anything in your past? Another incident where someone blamed you for the outcome?”

  “No. I’ve racked my brain. The truth is the accident scared me. It changed me for the better. Because my friend died, I don’t drink alcohol and haven’t touched a drop since that party. I changed my behavior and concentrated on learning the skills I required to go into politics. Jess’s death turned me into a goody-two-shoes.”

  Josh’s heart ached for her. Her regret was transparent, her sorrow at losing her friend. Nelson had shown him the accident reports, and although Ashley had alcohol in her system, she’d been nowhere near the limit. The judge had slammed her for having a blood alcohol reading while driving on a restricted license, but she hadn’t intended to drive that night.

  “I’m tired of being good, Josh. Tonight, I crave sin.” She yanked at his loosened tie, leaving him in no doubt of what she had in mind.

  Every muscle in Josh tensed. Sin. Yeah, he was up for that. He ached for her. “What about your brother?”

  “Don’t ask. Don’t tell,” she spoke in a solemn voice. “I’m an adult, and I have a stalker chasing me. If something happens to me tomorrow, I won’t have regrets involving my career path, but I will mourn not getting my hands on your splendid body.”

  Josh grinned. “Splendid body, huh?”

  “From what I’ve seen so far. I might’ve missed two skinny, spindly legs.”

  He should keep his word to Frog. His word—it meant something to him. “According to my friends and family, I have an atrocious record with women. The second thing—I promised your brother I wouldn’t put my hands on you in an inappropriate manner.”

  Ashley released a snort. “Fine, let me do the work.” She dragged off his tie and started on the buttons of his shirt. “I’ll be the bad guy.”

  Josh’s pulse jumped at her cool fingers on his flesh. Hell, he wanted her so much. He’d never spent so much time with a woman and not had sex. The thought brought a frown. “No, Ashley. Wait.”

  “What happens if my stalker kills me tomorrow? Or you. I need this. I want you. I know what I’m doing. I’m clear of mind, and I’m a mature adult. My party thinks I’m capable of running the country, so I’m certainly competent to make this informed decision. Think of it this way. We’re two adults who want each other. Neither of us is making promises nor have expectations for the future. This is a slice of time we’re carving out for relaxation. Something private for us.”

  He didn’t want to be her man of the moment.

  The thought whacked him over the head. Even though they hadn’t known each other for long, he admired her. Liked her a lot. Hell, was this how his last serious girlfriend had felt when he’d walked away? He’d warned her, given her the truth, but she’d wanted more. Tried to force his hand, which led to him making his famous one-date rule.

  “Hey!” Ashley knocked her knuckles against the side of his head, hard enough to gain his attention but not hurt him.

  “Sorry. Thinking about the past.”

  “Been there.” Ashley scrambled off his knee. She slid down the side zipper of her red gown and shrugged from her dress. Josh started to get a clue.

  “Are you trying to tease me into jumping you?” Not that he required any sort of show. The moment Ashley had mentioned sex, his body had reacted.

  “I’m not proficient at seduction.”

  Josh came to a decision and stood. “You’re a sexy, gorgeous woman, Ashley Townsend. I surrender. I can’t fight this any longer.” His voice was low and gritty, his cock turning hard and heavy when he saw her in another of the sets of lingerie he’d chosen for her. Black lace. Sexy black stockings that hugged her stunning legs and ended in a lace band on her upper thighs. If she thought he didn’t want her, she wasn’t the smart woman he’d thought she was. “When Frog comes home, I’ll confess. He can punch me in person.”

  “Not if I get to him first,” Ashley promised. “He can’t tell me who I can or cannot see. I mean, if I tried that with him, he’d tell me where to go.”

  “Let me undress you,” Josh whispered in a verbal surrender. He reached for her, noticed his right hand tremble as it settled on her shoulder. “I thought the black lace would suit you.” He ran his hand over her arm, savoring the silky skin. Her swift intake of air brought a smile.

  It seemed they were both in new territory here.

  Although he wanted to take things slowly, this time he embraced the idea of failure. He brushed a kiss on her shoulder and inhaled lavender. An old-fashioned scent and a contrast to the sexy underwear and dress, but the fragrance suited Ashley.

  “Did I tell you how beautiful you looked tonight?”

  “Ever since the legs episode, I’ve dressed more conservatively. Aft
er this afternoon, I realized I needed to live for myself. Since Jess—the accident—I’ve tried so hard to do the right thing, but I’m human. I’m not perfect. All of that hit me like a bombshell when I worried my stalker had killed you. I intend to live my remaining days. Existing is fine, but living each day as an adventure is better. I do this for Jess. For my job. For myself. I have to trust the police will catch this guy, and meanwhile, I’ll show every Kiwi voter the best part of myself, which I think is a mix of who I was and who I’ve become.”

  Josh laughed, so impressed with this courageous woman. “The voting public won’t know what or who has hit them. They’ll start calling you Hurricane Ashley.”

  “Excellent. I’d prefer that nickname more than Legs. Now, shut up and kiss me. It’s way past time to get down and dirty.”

  “Yes,” he whispered. He claimed her mouth, intending to start slow. The first press of their lips blasted his plan away as Ashley worked her seductive wiles.

  Yessss. Ashley sank into Josh’s kiss, every feminine part of her saluting his masterful actions. She didn’t want friendly sex. Gentle sex. She needed hot and passionate, and she communicated that by dragging him close and wrestling off his clothes.

  “Hey, easy with my arm.”

  “Sorry. I forgot. Should we stop?”

  “Hell, no.” He nibbled her neck, eliciting a delicious shiver from her.

  Her bra loosened, freeing her sensitive breasts. Josh lifted her and positioned her on the bed. His mouth settled over a nipple, and he sucked hard even as his fingers teased her other one. Pleasure roared through Ashley. It had been so long. She bit her lip as she recalled her houseguests. Nope. Not gonna worry about them. As far as the world was concerned, she and Josh were a couple.

  He lifted his head and moved away from her. “Condoms?”

  “Bedside drawer,” she said immediately.

  Josh nodded and removed his shirt. A dressing covered his arm, pristine white against his tanned skin.

  “Is it sore?”

  He winked at her. “My cock is hurting more than my arm.”

  His words reassured her, and while he stripped off his clothes, she wriggled from her panties.