“Caroline, you don’t-”
“I do. I want. I will.” She pulled the belt off loop by loop, tossing it behind her. “I definitely need to earn some extra credit, so I’ll be going all out.”
Jack groaned when she slipped her fingers into his waistband. “As long as I end the night inside you, I don’t fucking care.”
He didn’t mean her mouth. Shit. That wasn’t part of her plan. Caroline sat back on her knees. “I want to give you the whole show.”
“You don’t have to.”
She took a seat on the bed next to him. Time to face another sexually awkward subject. “All right, you forced my hand. Jack, why don’t you let me finish when I’m going down on you? You’ve made it clear how much you enjoy it.”
He took the glasses off. “I used all those women, Caroline. Before I met you.”
At least he didn’t have to think about it very long. “We’ve talked about that. I’m not them. And you’re not that man anymore.”
“I treated them terribly. Letting them suck my cock before kicking them out of the house. Using them. Debasing them. Making them feel like disposable objects. It was much worse than what I represented to you. I never coerced them into doing anything but they must have felt like I did. How couldn’t they?”
“Have you always had this perception of your behavior?”
“For a while. I talked to Natalie about it.”
Yet another burden he’d been carrying alone for too many years. “You can’t change the way you acted, and you can’t change the way they responded, even though I think your interpretation is incorrect. But you can accept that the reason I do it is entirely different.”
“Why do you do it, then?”
“Because I love you,” Caroline said. “Why do you go down on me?”
“Because I love the way you react to it. I love tasting you, bringing you pleasure, loving you.”
“Can’t you see how they’re the same thing?”
“Doesn’t feel the same.”
“I’m glad you recognize the power and control issues intertwined with oral sex, but you’re overanalyzing that aspect of our relationship.” Caroline let out a harsh breath. “Try not to focus on anything other than what occurs between the two of us. You have never degraded me or forced me to do anything I don’t want to do.”
He pulled her toward him. “I believe you,” he said softly. “But I’m afraid I’ll get carried away when you’re doing it. That I’ll hurt you or turn it into something less than loving. I can’t always control myself when I’m around you.”
“You’re not an animal, Jack.”
He unironically bit at her neck. “Sometimes you make me react that way. We both like rough sex. Frequently.”
“If you ever started to act in a manner that made me uncomfortable, I would make you stop. And I like when you can’t keep your hands off of me.”
Jack slid his hand under her shirt. “Sometimes I can’t.”
He wanted to get to the promised land but she wasn’t going to let him through the gate without a little effort. “You poor man. What was it like when I wouldn’t give you the time of day?”
“I jacked off every morning and night thinking about you. About what I wanted to do to you if I got you alone.”
That sounded perfectly wicked. “Well,” Caroline said. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“All those fantasies involved you as a willing participant,” Jack said.
His explanation was a wee bit too hasty. “I’ll bet.”
“I never want to be anything other than a gentleman with you.”
And yet she’d never claimed to be a lady. “Your instincts are usually dead on when it comes to me.”
“Doesn’t always feel that way.”
“They are. Believe me. I want to act out some of those fantasies you had. After all, we don’t want our sex life to get stale.”
Jack pulled her to her feet. “That has never happened. And you say I’m the pervert?”
Caroline winked at him. “A perverted man needs an equally perverted woman.”
He pressed a palm to one of her breasts. “I’m so grateful you’re with me now. We get to make up for all that lost time.”
She let him remove her blouse. “I get incredibly turned on whenever you tell me how much you missed me,” she whispered. “May I show you how much I missed you?”
“I guess so,” Jack murmured.
She’d already distracted him. Good. Caroline unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it off and removing his undershirt. She kissed her way down his stomach to his lower abdomen. “Go sit on that chair.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” She smiled coyly at him. “You can leave your pants on. I’m quite industrious.”
Jack stumbled over to the desk chair. “Seeing you off your game is kind of funny,” she said, straddling his lap.
“This is not how I imagined this playing out. I thought-”
“You thought correctly,” Caroline said. “We’re going to cover the ground rules.” Didn’t hurt to correlate this game with the one they’d played a couple of nights before. “First, you’re not going to hold back. Understand?”
Jack closed his eyes. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, that’s a nice touch, Monty. I like that.”
“I was being gentlemanly.”
“Whatever. Second, I get to finish you any way I want. Is that okay?” she asked, pressing her hand against the growing bulge in his pants.
“Yes.”
Caroline kissed her way to his ear. “I’m going to give this to you. You can take it any way you want and not feel guilty about it. Is that clear?” She pulled back to look at him. “I love you, Jack. I would do anything for you, but right now I really want to do this.”
She slid off his lap and onto the floor, kneeling between his legs. Jack stroked her hair and she looked up at him.
“I love you, baby,” he said.
“I know.” Caroline unzipped him slowly, for emphasis. She pulled his cock out of his boxers and took him in her mouth.
He groaned, louder than she had anticipated. It didn’t take long for him to adjust, and soon his hands were fisting her hair, slowly pressing her toward him. She took him deeper, getting into a rhythm. She’d pull back slightly before pushing forward again, until he was almost entirely in her mouth.
“Jesus, Caroline,” he growled. “Keep going.”
Jack unconsciously tugged at her hair, and she closed her eyes. She’d maybe taken him this far once or twice, but he’d always stopped her before he got too deep. If she was going to finish this she had to pace herself. She pulled back, catching her breath as her husband untangled his fingers from her hair, heat in his eyes.
“You looked incredible just now,” he said.
Caroline licked her lips, stroking his length. Silky smooth and hard as a rock. His cock was beautiful. “You want me to keep going?”
Jack thrust into her hand. “Please, baby.”
She watched him move. He kept a steady tempo as she tightened her grip. Dear God, he was sexy. “Do it,” she whispered. “Do that to my throat.”
He caressed her hair, trailed his fingers until they reached her cheek. Pressed his thumb to her lips. His eyes hooded. His breath shallow. He stood up. “I want you like this. Stay on your knees, facing me.”
Caroline straightened up and placed her lips on his cock. His hands were at the back of her head again, fisting her hair. He pressed into her mouth and she didn’t stop him.
“Fuck,” he said. “Take it, baby. Take all of it.” He continued to push deeper, gently but with purpose. Caroline grabbed onto his pants, moving her hands around to his ass to encourage him further. Her eyes were watering and she wanted to choke but the look on his face kept her going.
Jack moved slowly, deliberately, cursing and grunting. He was trying to make it last and failing miserably.
“I love you, Caroline,” he groaned, and drove into her mouth a final time
, spurting down her throat before collapsing onto the chair.
Jack rubbed his eyes. “That was unbelievable.” He zipped his pants and patted his lap. “Get up here now.”
Caroline scrambled up, hugging him tightly. “That was nice,” she said.
He chuckled. “You remain the queen of understatement.”
“My God, the way you reacted. I can’t even describe it.”
Jack kissed her deeply. “I can. Might be mostly grunts and boorish noises, but I can articulate it for you.”
“I bet you can.”
He traced his finger across her lips. “I’m not sure I’m the one in control in this weird sexual dynamic we have going.”
“I’m not sure I am, either. A couple of suckers, we are. Depraved, degenerate suckers.”
“You gonna let me reciprocate later?” he asked.
“Maybe. You gonna fuck me silly afterwards?”
Jack picked her up and headed toward the bed. “We’ll definitely get there.”
Chapter Nine
“Are you okay flying commercial?” Caroline asked.
Schroeder checked his ticket again before shoving it into his bag. “I’ll survive, ma’am. I’m more concerned that you’re in the main terminal instead of with the charters.”
Always with the exposure. She didn’t need any reminders that she was never too far from harm. “We wanted to see you off properly.”
Schroeder cocked his head at her before briefly glancing at Jack. Maybe that twenty minute closed door meeting hadn’t gone quite the way Caroline envisioned it.
“Okay, I wanted to see you off properly,” she said. On a whim, she stepped forward and embraced him. “Thank you.”
He pulled back, beet red. “You’re welcome.”
Jack extended his hand, somewhat reluctantly. “We’ll be in touch once we meet with the Prime Minister.”
“Understood, sir.” Schroeder motioned toward the gate. “I should get going, as should you. Safe travels.”
Caroline gave him a little wave as she and Jack walked away. “I like him,” she said.
“You appear to have won him over as well. Is there anyone who doesn’t like you?”
The entire Santos Administration. She looped her arm through his. “It’s my greatest skill.”
“Aside from kicking men in…certain places?”
“Indeed.”
“We should get out of here,” Jack said quietly. “No security.”
“It’s a short walk to the other terminal.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
They’d have those whimsical moments when they’d almost feel relaxed before one or both of them would sink back into reality. She’d stiffen, or he’d tighten his arm around her waist. They’d pick up on each other’s signals. Would that feeling of dread and uncertainty ever fully go away? She squeezed his arm a little tighter, laughing when he dragged her into a corner and kissed her deeply. Maybe he wasn’t as anxious as she’d thought.
She pulled back, breathless. “What was that for?”
“Are you complaining, Diana?”
The name was clue enough. She remembered the game. “No, that was very nice, dear. What was that for?”
Jack cradled her head in his hands, very carefully positioning them further down the hallway. “Didn’t you see him? That was Douglas Langlade on the concourse.”
The former minority leader? The one she’d butted heads with on a daily basis while in Congress? She’d been trying not to make eye contact with anyone. Focusing straight ahead. Watching the sunlight through the windows. Counting her steps. Caroline stepped away from him, stupidly trying to catch a glance of the people walking by. “What?”
He yanked her back. “No, don’t do that. He might recognize us.”
She frowned. “I assumed he was dead.”
“As did I. And we have no inkling what his allegiances are. He might be a spy.”
Hell, she’d never figured out if he was friend or foe while she was in the House. Any number of incentives could have seriously altered his loyalties. “What do we do?” she whispered.
“We’re going to lay low for a while.”
“But we have to get to the terminal.”
“That can wait a few more minutes.”
She batted her eyelashes. “Whatever will we do to pass the time?”
Jack pushed her up against the wall. “We’re going to be that madly in love couple we talked about. The older married folks who can’t keep their hands off each other.”
“I thought we agreed to be the indifferent couple on a somewhat magical getaway,” she said.
“That’s what you said,” he murmured. “I’m all for second honeymoon.”
It wasn’t difficult to act the part, knowing their destination and the reason for it. “Making out in a hallway isn’t exactly the best way to lay low.”
Jack kissed her. “You talk too much.”
She was quite willing to let him shut her up. They could spend a few minutes locking lips. Canada was only a flight away.
*****
Jones pointed out the window. “Afraid your luggage ain’t gonna get there?”
She might have been obsessively tracking the crew’s every move as they readied the plane before boarding. “I have all those pretty suits now, you know.”
He put his arm around her. “You take one of your mood pills already?”
Caroline rested her head against his chin, just for a minute. Jack wouldn’t mind. “Hasn’t kicked in yet.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“I know.” She gave him a little hug. “We haven’t talked in forever. How was your time in The Hague?”
“Could’ve been worse. You did all the hard stuff. I just told them what little I knew.”
Which was a lot, as far as she could tell. “You’ve seen some shit, both in and out of The Fed.”
“Can’t do much to change that. Just gotta keep moving forward.”
Such wise words. “You’re my favorite fortune cookie,” she said.
“Does that mean I’m the Scarecrow?”
“Nah.” She punched him in the ribs. “You’re still the Cowardly Lion.”
“You’re mean,” he said. “I’m sitting as far away from you as possible.”
“You shouldn’t do that. You won’t see me much once we land.”
The Canadian government wanted to keep their arrival as inconspicuous as possible. Jones, Gig, and Crunch were staying in downtown Ottawa, bunking up with a few Mounties who provided protection to the Prime Minister. She didn’t know where she and Jack were staying, but it would be airtight and secure as hell.
“I’m stuck with Crunch and Gig,” Jones said. “Nice planning. Hell, can’t you take one bodyguard to wherever it is you’re going?”
“Not a chance,” Jack said, sidling in between them. “You deserve a break and the Mounties need to earn their pay.” He kissed Caroline on the cheek. “It’s almost time to board. You okay?”
Maybe she should have made an announcement that she’d taken her drugs, they were kicking in, and she’d be fine. But she merely shrugged and leaned in for a totally gratuitous hug. “I’m good.”
He rocked her back and forth, his eyes toward the window. “Then I believe we have a plane to catch.”
Chapter Ten
“I’m nervous,” Caroline said.
“Just be yourself,” Nick said. “Folks will love you.”
“Voters love me. Other politicians find me naïve and suspiciously pleasant.”
“No, they don’t. I met with the other freshman spouses earlier today.” He grinned at her. “The ladies seemed to like me well enough.”
Of course they had. “Did you flirt?”
“Just a bit. Are you jealous?”
“Not at all. I didn’t get that Judiciary assignment by being a wallflower.”
Her husband took her hand. “Charm gets you places. Let’s go inside.”
They’d been flitting from event to event for the
past few days, commuting to D.C. together. Most of the newly elected representatives and their spouses were holing up in hotels but she and Nicky had spent each night in their own bed. All the House freshmen seemed to be quite friendly, although looks could be deceiving. Caroline had done her research. A few of the men in particular were too conservative for her taste. Some of the Democrats were too liberal. She hoped she’d find her own niche, even if that entailed searching outside the box.
“We won’t stay long,” she said.
“Don’t care. Is there booze?”
“At a mixer? I hope so.”
Nick chortled. “Some of those antiquated terms are adorable.”
She could practice her charm before they made their appearance. “Like me?”
He kissed her lightly on the lips. “You’re the most adorable member of Congress ever.”
The room was crowded. Ugh. Caroline didn’t mind people but she didn’t like tight spaces. She didn’t like close talkers either, and some male freshmen floated a little too near her discomfort zone. But that was how it worked. Men made their presence known. Women tried to fade into the woodwork. Caroline was determined not to fall into the same trap. She represented a safe Democratic district but had no idea what the future might bring. She could be a one-term wonder, could get bounced out by a more progressive or better-funded candidate. She was an upstart and an unknown which meant she was vulnerable. If she only had two years to accomplish something of merit, she was going to get started as soon as possible.
“I need a drink for this,” she said.
Nick gestured toward the bar. “Moscato or amaretto?”
“Whatever’s easier.” She scanned the crowd, searching for familiar faces. A few folks waved at her but she was drawn to a well-built man in the corner, his fingers wrapped around a bottle of Berghoff. The gold pin on his lapel danced against the lighting. She marched over to him. This could definitely be her scene.
“Monogram Club,” she said, pointing at his jacket.
He tipped his beer at her. “Very impressive. You spotted that from across the room?”
“I went to law school at Notre Dame.”
Triumph (The Bellator Saga Book 6) Page 9