The Billionaire's Temporary Bride (Scandal, Inc Book 3)

by Avery James

  "I'd love to come in," Charlotte said.

  Jack led her into the house and tossed his jacket onto a hook.

  Charlotte stood in the entryway as he headed to the kitchen.

  "Can I make you a drink?" he called back to her.

  Charlotte stared down at the ring on her finger. She was still in shock, and she wondered if the dizzy excitement she felt was from the proposal or from everything else that was happening between her and Jack.

  "Sure," she said. "Do you need to get in touch with your campaign staff or something? You probably have a whole slate of publicity lined up to announce the engagement."

  "I'll let the Havens worry about that," Jack said. "They're going to be pretty pissed though."

  "Why's that?"

  "They had set up this whole elaborate proposal for me downtown with the Capitol in the background. There would have been cameras everywhere. They wanted to treat it like an episode of the Bachelor."

  "Wait, this wasn't the plan all along?"

  "I was telling the truth when I said I wanted to make you happy."

  Jack walked back over and handed her a glass of wine, and Charlotte braced herself for the moment where he turned his back and headed off to make a few phone calls or catch up on email. Jack poured himself a glass of scotch and downed it in one long gulp.

  "Building up the courage to make that phone call to Amy and Callie?" Charlotte asked.

  "Not quite," Jack said. "I've just been trying to keep myself from doing something I know I shouldn't do."

  "Oh?" Charlotte asked. "And what is that?"

  Jack walked across the room and placed his hand on her cheek.

  "This," he said.

  He planted a slow, tender kiss on her lips. The warmth of his kiss washed through her like a wave, and Charlotte felt like she might collapse against him from sheer delight.

  "What was that?" Charlotte asked.

  "I've wanted to do that since the moment I saw you tonight," Jack said.

  "That's funny," Charlotte said. "I've been waiting for the same thing."

  "Good," Jack replied.

  Charlotte felt the electricity in her body as Jack kissed her again and again. As he ran his hands over her back, her mind raced. Was she ready for this? Was this what she wanted. The voice in her head screamed yes, yes, yes, and no at the same time. She realized that she needed to slow everything down.

  "This is a bad idea," she said between kisses. Her heart was racing, and the warmth of her excitement glowed in her cheeks. "Isn't it?"

  "It isn't," Jack said, holding her against his broad frame. "It's a good one." He ran his hands down her side, and Charlotte shivered in anticipation.

  "Are you sure?"

  Jack met her eyes. "I don't know."

  "Me neither," Charlotte admitted.

  Neither of them said anything, both searching for answers in the other's eyes. They had played this game already. Would it ever stop happening if they kept calling it off just as things started heating up? Charlotte wanted this so badly, but she knew how much it would change everything.

  "Maybe just tonight," she finally said, reaching for Jack's shirt and undoing the top button.

  "Just tonight," Jack echoed.

  He kissed her again. This time he let his lips range down to her neck and her collarbone. Each kissed flared with desire. She could tell how much he wanted her. When he pulled back and nodded toward the stairs, he wrapped his fingers around hers.

  Charlotte nodded and followed. She knew that there would be no going back from this. Everything would be different, but she didn't want to fight her attraction to him any longer, and she didn't want to pretend like there wasn't a spark between them. She needed him, and she wanted him, and, slowly, she walked with him up the stairs. The lights were off in the hallway, and his bedroom was dark, save for the shafts of moonlight that spilled in through the windows.

  Jack stopped her just short of the bed and kissed her neck. Charlotte slipped the rest of the buttons of his shirt open one by one, her fingers trembling slightly as she pulled the shirt open and exposed his broad chest and the lines of his abs. Jack ran his fingers over the bare skin of her arm and slid her dress off of her shoulders.

  Charlotte tried to calm her breaths as she slipped into Jack's bed, but the feeling of his hands sliding over her hips drove her wild. He was behind her, kissing her shoulder and the back of her neck. Each kiss, each nibble made her moan in delight.

  "Protection?" she whispered.

  "Of course," Jack said.

  He ran his hand up her side, slowly tracing his fingers over the notches between her ribs before cupping her breast and leaning in to kiss the back of her neck. She could feel his body heat as he pressed his chest against her back.

  Jack ran his hand down over her stomach and between her legs as Charlotte tried to calm her breathing, but as soon as he started kissing her again, she lost all control. She turned towards him, and his lips roamed over her neck and her breasts and her stomach. Her heart fluttered with excitement as he kissed her all over. She reached down to tangle her fingers in his hair and pulled him up gently, stroking his scalp as he positioned himself on top of her.

  Charlotte trembled as she felt the first flex of Jack's hips against hers. Slowly, he pushed himself inside her, and Charlotte felt a surge of excitement. She ran her hands over his muscular chest, and she bit down on her lip as the pleasure grew stronger.

  "Oh, God," she moaned.

  "I take it that's a good sign," Jack whispered in her ear. He slowed his pace, grinding against her. She could feel every hard line of his body.

  "Mm-hm," she managed to moan. She curled her toes into the soft satin sheets. Pleasure arced through her body as Jack kissed her neck. "It's just been a while."

  "I'll go slow," Jack said.

  Charlotte laughed and flexed her hips against him. "Just keep doing what you're doing." Fast had been good. Slow was good too. She doubted Jack could do much wrong in bed.

  Jack's mouth moved against Charlotte's with a long, slow force and he ran his hands back over her body. She trembled with delight. Soon Jack had her on the edge of climax. Each slow, deliberate motion of his body against hers made her clench in pleasure as he gradually lifted his pace.

  He kissed her neck again, and Charlotte's mind went blank with bliss. No confusion, no worry, just her and him and the racing of their hearts and their hurried, excited breaths. Her body trembled as he worked his tongue against her, teasing her as he brought her closer and closer to completion. Tiny beads of sweat broke out across her body as she cried out in delight.

  She shut her eyes and bit her lip as the pleasure grew stronger and stronger. She raked her nails against Jack's chest and clenched her toes, holding her breath as the delight ached deep inside her.

  She pulled herself against Jack's chest as he crashed into her again and again. She couldn't hold off. She had to give in. She could feel the pleasure growing brighter inside her, like a star that was about to explode. She shouted in ecstasy and held on to Jack as well as she could as her climax rang through her.

  She felt dazed and content, and she couldn't believe that she and Jack had slept with each other. As they lay there, Jack ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her for a while longer, like he knew he had to make this one night count.

  "You're beautiful," he whispered.

  "And you're sweaty," she replied with a smile.

  "I hold you responsible," he said, laughing.

  Before long, Jack had fallen asleep with his arms wrapped around her, and Charlotte lay awake, wondering what she was doing. Why had she let herself think that this one night, as wonderful as it had been, wouldn't be awkward between them for the rest of the eighteen months she had signed up for as soon as the sun rose? She wondered if she should sneak out of bed, grab her clothes and just leave.

  She looked at Jack. What would he think if he woke up in the morning and she wasn't there? Would he be upset? Relieved? Would he even care either wa
y? Charlotte turned these questions over in her head again and again as the night slowly dragged by.

  At least he looked like he was enjoying whatever dream he was having. Charlotte noted the way the edge of his mouth curled up into a little grin as he slept.

  She ran her finger down the center of Jack's chest, and he startled her by reflexively rolling over in response. He gave a sigh before mumbling something unintelligible to the other side of the bed, still deep asleep.

  Hoping to get him to repeat his reaction, Charlotte moved her nails lightly down Jack's back. He rolled in bed until his chest was pressed against her again and whispered one more time.

  "Charlotte," he mumbled, still smiling.

  She couldn't help but smile too. He was dreaming of her.

  Chapter 10

  When Charlotte woke the next morning, Jack was gone, and she was alone in his house.

  He left a note on the door apologizing for sneaking off to work so early, saying she looked too peaceful and happy to wake. The post script let her know that the cleaning lady arrived at noon, and that Charlotte should take the opportunity to explore the grounds.

  She slipped back into her dress from the night before. If she was going to stay here more often, she'd have to bring some clothes. She'd need a dresser or a closet. For the first time, she realized that this would soon be her home.

  She walked from room to room in the bright morning light wondering what to do with her day. Now that she was engaged to Jack, she couldn't just find herself a job. She had to leave her schedule open for him. She had to be ready at a moment's notice. She wondered if she'd be able to have a job at all when they were married.

  Admiring the way the light fell across the lavishly decorated bedrooms and studies, she found her way down to the kitchen, which looked out over the back yard through a wall of sliding glass doors. The gleaming appliances and cool stone countertops looked incredible, and as Charlotte's stomach grumbled, she wondered if she could actually use the kitchen for herself. It was only half past nine, but she was famished. If it were the weekend, she'd have walked down to the farmer's market on Wisconsin, even in her dress from the night before.

  To Charlotte's surprise, the pantry and fridge were fully stocked, overflowing with fruits and vegetables, strawberries, raspberries, apples and oranges, even fresh rhubarb. That's it, she thought, I'll make Jack a rhubarb pie. She pulled out her phone and called her mother.

  "Hey mom," she said, "I need some help with a recipe of yours."

  Charlotte had never been much of a cook or a baker, but she wanted to do something special for Jack. She wanted to let him know that she had listened to everything he had said and that she was there for him. The pie seemed like a good way to do that. Of course, first she'd actually have to bake the damn thing.

  Halfway through the process, as she stared at the mess she had made of the kitchen — mixing bowls tossed left and right, flour seemingly everywhere — she wondered if she had bitten off more than she could chew, but she stuck with it. Two hours later, after using up most of Jack's flour on scrapped attempts to crimp the edge of her crust with a fork, she had a nearly perfect pie in the oven. She brushed off a bit of flour that had somehow made it to her shoulder, wondered how she had ever managed to make such a mess of the kitchen, and headed upstairs to shower while the pie baked.

  After the requisite cooling time and a quick stop at her apartment to change clothes, Charlotte hopped in a cab and headed to the House office buildings on Independence Avenue, almost-uncomfortably-warm pie in hand. She felt triumphant. The pie looked beautiful, her white dress with pink polka dots looked adorable, and she was ready to make her fiancé's day.

  After slowly making her way through security and getting lost trying to find Jack's office, she finally arrived. She marched up to the young, blonde woman at the reception desk.

  "Charlotte Crowley, I'm here to see Jack. I mean, Congressman Coburn," she said. "I'm his fiancée." She held up the hand with her ring on it, hoping this would give the receptionist extra incentive to help her.

  "The congressman is out of the office today, but if you'll take a seat, I'll see if his assistant can help you in any way," the woman said.

  Charlotte took a seat and waited. And she waited a while longer. After what felt like an hour, the receptionist returned.

  "Do you know where Jack is? I could just head over there instead," Charlotte suggested. The pie in her lap felt significantly cooler than when she had arrived.

  "The congressman's assistant will see you now."

  Charlotte couldn't help feeling out of her league. So even out of all the receptionists and staffers, apparently Charlotte was the only one in the room not allowed to know where her fiancé was.

  The blonde led Charlotte through the office. Two staffers sat at their desks, talking loudly on the phone.

  "You want me to get him right now?" one of them said. "How the hell am I supposed to get Mr. Coburn back Massachusetts in time for that? It's not possible."

  Had Jack flown to another state for the day and neglected to tell her? Charlotte wondered as the blonde led her through another door.

  "Mr. Santos," the receptionist said, "There's a woman here for the congressman. She says she's his fiancée."

  Mr. Santos held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Crowley. I'm Jack's deputy chief of staff. He's told me all about you, although I only heard news of the engagement this morning. By the way, you can call me Ed."

  "Nice to meet you, Ed. So he already told you? We only got engaged last night," Charlotte said.

  "News travels fast in this town, especially when it involves the love life of one of the nation's most eligible bachelors."

  "He won't be a bachelor for long," Charlotte said. "I was wondering if there was some way for me to reach him. It's kind of a long story, but I baked him a pie."

  "The congressman's out of the office today, but I can see to it that he gets the pie," Ed replied. "Unfortunately, I can't give out the details of his schedule to anyone without approval. It's office policy. As soon as he gives the green light, I can tell you, but that won't help you much right now."

  Charlotte tried to swallow her displeasure.

  "He shouldn't be too long today, though," Ed assured her. "You can wait in his office if you'd like. I'm actually about to head out myself. Nancy, the woman who showed you in, will be able to help you with anything if you need it."

  If Jack was out-of-state, there was no point in hanging around his office with a pie.

  "That's alright," Charlotte said.

  She felt defeated. She had gone out of her way to show some consideration for Jack, and it had failed miserably. Now she just seemed like a crazy girlfriend trying to track him down. She didn't know why all of this was making her so upset, but she felt the frustration welling up inside her chest like she was going to cry.

  "Thank you for your help, Ed," she said. She turned and headed for the door.

  Charlotte marched outside and just started walking. She didn't pay any attention to where she was going or how long she had walked. She must have wound her way in a circle, because before long she found herself back on the National Mall. She sat down on a bench with a view of the Capitol, placing the pie down next to her.

  She didn't know whether to head back to her apartment or to Jack's house. Maybe this had all been a mistake: the pie, saying yes to the engagement, spending the night with Jack. Maybe she had been fooling herself into thinking that she and Jack had something more than a business arrangement, even if the pleasures of the night before were still vivid in her mind.

  She must have looked like such an idiot, walking back and forth across DC with a pie in her arms. She tried not to get upset, but she could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks as she blushed in embarrassment. She'd thought maybe Jack needed her to be there for him as a wife, but now it seemed clear he didn't need a partner. He just needed someone to smile for the cameras. He didn't need her support or her friendship. He just neede
d her to sign the marriage contract.

  She had gone through so much effort for nothing. She was exhausted and emotional and still hadn't even eaten all day. She looked down at the pie. She had been so proud of it that morning. The crust had browned perfectly, and the chunks of strawberry and rhubarb through the lattice of the top looked so colorful and delicious. It even smelled great.

  She pulled the cling wrap off of the top of the pie to let the sweet scent of strawberry and the tang of rhubarb waft up toward her. This pie was supposed to show consideration and appreciation. Charlotte took a plastic fork out of her purse and dug into the pie. Maybe she should appreciate herself for a while.

  As the tart taste of rhubarb rolled over her taste buds, Charlotte heard the familiar sound of her phone ringing in her purse.

  Now he wants to get in touch with me. She reached into her bag and pulled out the phone. A little too late, she thought, swallowing the delicious bite of pie. The mouthful almost caught in her throat when she looked at the identification of the caller. The call wasn't from Jack.

  "Hi, Mom," Charlotte said.

  "You're ENGAGED?" her mother exclaimed on the other end of the line. "Why didn't you tell me when you called this morning?"

  "Um, yeah," Charlotte said as she rewrapped the pie. "I thought I'd wait until the time was right."

  "You're going to marry to a congressman and you didn't think to tell us right away? You're going to marry anyone and you didn't think to call us right away?" The voice on the other end of the line was frantic but happy.

  "I thought we'd come visit and tell you then." Charlotte looked around the Mall at all the happy couples, then looked down at the partially eaten pie in her lap. "We're actually going into a thing right now," she lied. "Can I call you back tonight?"

  "Sure thing, honey," her mother said, "but I expect a full report."

  As soon as she was off the phone, Charlotte started walking to Jack's house. It had been one thing for them to mislead people who didn't really know them. It was going to be another thing entirely to lie to her parents. She'd need to start working with Jack immediately. Well, she'd have to start working with him whenever he got home.