Seduced By The Candidate (The Candidate, #1)

by Beth Klein

  “Okay…okay,” he sighed. “Madeline Carter joined my team almost at the same time as I made public my intention to contest the presidency. She was extremely efficient, good at her job and accommodating…pretty much everything you want in a P.A. We naturally worked very closely together and in the course of time, we…er…we grew close.”

  “Sounds familiar,” said Charlotte bitterly.

  Seeing that it was best to ignore Charlotte’s comment, Goulding continued.

  “We didn’t plan for it to happen. It was just one of those things and we were both so wrapped up in each other that nothing else mattered. Clearly, I was committing political suicide and if the public ever found out I would have been finished. For her, she had made her position as part of my team completely untenable and it was only a matter of time before someone found out and it all fell apart.

  For months we kidded ourselves that we were enough for each other and that the risk was worth taking. We were careful to conceal our feelings from anyone else and for my part. I was completely committed to the relationship and I was even making plans as to how I could successfully introduce her as my girlfriend and still maintain my position within the race for the presidency. No one knew, not even John. I truly believed that she was as committed to the relationship as I was.”

  Goulding rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. He would have preferred to have this conversation at a later time, but he also knew that it was best to get everything out in the open. He had come to truly care for Charlotte, maybe even love her. He pushed on, spilling out the painful truth.

  “Unfortunately, that simply wasn’t the case. Madeline was a very ambitious woman and had decided that she had no intention of being a P.A forever. She had aspirations for a much loftier position and I guess that I was merely the vehicle that she used to make that become a reality. Almost overnight she started talking about how it wasn’t working and how we needed to call it all off. I was naturally devastated and did everything I could to try and change her mind, but she was adamant. Worse still, she decided to blackmail me, telling me that unless I made it worth her while, she would go straight to the press and sell her story to the highest bidder.”

  Goulding got up and began pacing behind his desk. Moving seemed to help him say what needed to be said.

  “I was upset at losing the woman I loved and crushed that she could possibly be so cruel and heartless. None of it had been real for her. I was merely a means to an end. Irrespective of my feelings, she was happy to turn the screw if it resulted in her own personal gain. I confided in John and naturally he was furious, telling me I was ridiculous for ever having conceived of the idea when we were so close to Election Day.

  Unable to concentrate on mending a broken heart as well as the actions necessary to manage Madeline’s requests, I left it all to John. He talked to her and together they worked out a deal where she would leave my employment and move into a more senior position elsewhere in the party. In return, she agreed to never mention the affair again and even signed an official non-disclosure agreement to that effect.”

  He walked to the window and looked out without seeing the rain pouring down.

  “I threw myself into my work and refused to acknowledge anything or anyone that wasn’t intrinsically linked to my career and my campaign. I know I was a complete bastard to everyone that I came into contact with, but I didn’t care. I had no intention of ever opening myself up to that kind of let-down again and it was the only way that I could be completely sure that I was safeguarding myself.

  When you came into my life, it was on the understanding that you were a suitably qualified replacement that would join the team and get us across the finishing line. What I never expected was to feel the way I do about you, to be so caught up in your charm, your personality and your beauty. I’m not a womanizer or a playboy who gets his kicks out of bedding any available woman that works for him. I know it might look that way, but I really am genuine and sincere. Perhaps I wear my heart on my sleeve a little too much and disguise the fact by hiding behind a façade of bullshit and fluster, but what I felt…feel for you is completely genuine.”

  He turned back to her, pleading with his eyes that she would believe him.

  “That night in Memphis was amazing and every bit as incredible for me as it was for you. I told John that I don’t want you to go. I told him that when I’m with you I come alive and nothing else matters and I meant it. I just hope that I haven’t fucked it all up by not being completely honest with you.”

  Charlotte was awash with conflicting emotions and had no idea what she was going to do. On the one hand, she desperately wanted to believe that the man that had so entranced her and made her feel things that no other man ever had, was genuine and honest and that he had merely made a few mistakes along the way.

  After all, who hadn’t made mistakes, the only difference was that he was in such an elevated position that even the smallest discrepancy was pounced upon and scrutinized to within an inch of its life. On the other hand, he had lied to her. Even if he hadn’t exactly lied, he hadn’t been completely honest. What if what he had just said to her was just the latest in another carefully constructed and expertly delivered speech?

  “I need to be alone Senator,” she said quietly. “I’m going home and I’m going to decide exactly what I want to do and how I really feel about you.”

  Goulding looked utterly crest-fallen.

  “But Charlie, how will I…”

  “Miss Turner, if you don’t mind, Senator,” she said firmly. “Until I decide exactly how I feel, I think that it’s probably best to keep this strictly professional. I’m going to go home now and I don’t want you to contact me. If I’m not here on Friday morning, ready for the visit to Mississippi, you’ll have my answer. I heard everything that you had to say. At the moment, the only thing preventing me from telling you where to stick your job and your emotions is the sincerity I thought I heard in your voice. Don’t spoil that impression now with pleas and bullshit.”

  Unable to say anything, Goulding merely watched her collect her belongings and leave the hushed office. Almost before he had reluctantly closed his office door, the ping of emails landing in inbox’ began as the election team considered the latest in a string of events that had made this a very interesting day indeed.

  * * *

  The rest of the afternoon dragged by with monotonous regularity. Despite being snowed under with paperwork and the responsibilities of a Senator and a presidential candidate, Goulding couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the conversation that he had recently had with Charlotte. Yet again he had been found out, but what was it that made this any different from the countless other times that he had been left to manage a disaster of his own making? What was so special about this woman that he would willingly risk it all merely to spend another day at her side?

  He couldn’t find a rational reason for his apparent devotion to the reclusive blond that had so recently come in to his life. Yet again, he couldn’t merely cast her aside as he had done with so many others before her. Charlotte was special, of that he had no doubt and he would do everything in his power to protect what they had…assuming that he hadn’t already fucked it up beyond all reasonable chance of repair.

  Lost in a daydream, Goulding realized that his eyes had yet again drifted to the antique carriage clock on his desk as they had done so at least a dozen times in the past half an hour. He groaned, scarcely believing that time could tick by so slowly and actually checked the mechanism to make sure that that it hadn’t merely wound down and stood dormant. It hadn’t and the attractive clock face proudly displayed nineteen minutes past four as if it was deliberately taunting the Senator, willing him to find a fault that simply wasn’t there.

  “Fuck it,” said Goulding, shutting his laptop and getting to his feet. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing while she slips away. If she doesn’t want me, then so be it. But I’m not about to give her up without a fight.”

  Wit
h the decision made, he marched into the main office and was greeted by the meercat-esque sight of a dozen heads popping up from their computers and workstations.

  “Finish what you’re doing ladies and gentlemen and then get yourselves home. It’s been a tough day all round and you deserve to finish a bit early for once. We’ve all put in a hell of a lot of late nights lately and it’s about time I cut you a little slack.”

  Bemused faces carried on staring as if awaiting a punch line that would never come, but eventually they realized that he was being serious. The musical punctuation of a dozen computers being shut down filled the air. No one really knew what the hell was going on with the Senator at the minute, but they weren’t about to look this particular gift horse in the mouth! With a man like Goulding, it paid to take any positive that presented itself as soon as possible, no questions asked. Within five minutes the office was empty of everyone except for Goulding himself.

  * * *

  Having retrieved Charlotte’s home address from his aging address book, Goulding drove through the persistent rain with a careful purpose and intensity. He had stopped only once, to pick up a bottle of wine and now his mouth was set in a line of grin determination as he rode towards a confrontation that could have enormous ramifications. Goulding had never fought for anything of personal nature in his life before and he was actually happy to admit that he was more terrified that he had ever been before.

  In the military, he faced down the bullets of the enemy and laughed off the danger with his colleagues and friends. As a politician, he had gone up against countless men that were better qualified and far more experienced than he was, and again he had never given it a second thought. This however was very different. This mattered deeply to him and the emotional tie made it somehow more real and frightening.

  Pulling up to the curb outside Charlotte’s modest apartment block, Goulding sighed deeply and realized that despite rehearsing everything that he wanted to say to her, his mind had gone completely blank and he had no idea what to say if she actually opened the door to him. Just then, one of his father’s favorite sayings wormed its way into his mind and he smiled ruefully.

  “Shy boy gets no pudding,” he said to himself and realized that the childish phrase had never been more appropriate.

  Pulling his coat closely around his shoulders he ran for the building. The pounding rain soaking him instantly. Goulding had been aware that the intercom system might pose a significant barrier to entry and hated the fact that his future happiness might depend entirely on an interaction with the disembodied voice of a woman who was already upset and confused.

  If he could only see and talk to her face to face, he was certain that they could work this out. But without the ability to put a face to a voice, it was anyone’s game. Luckily for him, someone stood at the door and already deep in the necessary negotiations that would allow them to gain entry. If he could only get there in time, he could slip in with this unknown Samaritan and take control of his own destiny.

  The man had gained admittance and was already walking purposefully into the building. Goulding was still twenty feet away and the door was at its apex, shortly to close and trap him outside with all of the cold and anonymity that accompanied it. He sprinted, desperate to close the gap and improve his already fragile chances at reconciliation. Goulding put everything into his run, stretching out his arm, his desperately clasping fingers reaching aimlessly for the constantly narrowing gap—salvation was merely a fingertip’s distance away.

  After what seemed like a lifetime, his fingers touched the cold, slick metal of the doorframe and panting heavily, he breathed a sigh of relief. With barely inches to spare, his hand had wedged the gap between door and doorframe and he had unrestricted access to the lobby beyond. His chest heaved as he wrenched open the door and John Lyndsey’s words echoed in his head:

  “She’d better be worth it Bill…she’d better be worth it.”

  * * *

  The knock at the door made Charlotte jump and she put down the glass of disappointing white wine, gathered her dressing gown around her and made for the door.

  “Who is it?” she asked.

  “It’s Bill,” replied Goulding.

  Charlotte hadn’t expected this and instantly her hand went to her hair and the knot of her dressing gown. Her heart went into overdrive and a tingle started in her core. He came to see her. He actually came to see her.

  “Bill…I…I told you not to come, I told you I needed space…time to…think.” She stammered as she tried to pull her fleeing thoughts back together.

  “He had lied by omission”, she reminded herself. Not that it did any good. Her heart had already decided to give him a second chance without telling her.

  “I know Charlie…I know, but I couldn’t keep away. Besides, I’m here to be completely Sincere…me and the wine!”

  For a second there was silence and just as it had in the office, Goulding felt like time was standing still. Only Charlotte could restore the necessary equilibrium. Then the door opened and she stood before him resplendent and smiling.

  “Bill I…”

  “I want you Charlie and if you’ll allow me, I’ll worship everything that makes you…you. I’ll make sure that you never regret this decision for as long as you live.”

  “I’m not sure Bill,” said Charlotte, the hope and confusion evident on her face.

  “Yes you are Charlie,” said Goulding. “Deep down you know that this is what you want.”

  “Do I Bill, do I really? How can you be so sure?”

  Goulding smiled and took her in his arms, the wine nestling against the small of her back.

  “Charlie, I know this is what you want without a shadow of a doubt…I knew the minute you called me Bill.”

  Then he kissed her and nothing else seemed to matter to either of them.

  * * *

  Goulding woke with the growing daylight and stretched against the wonderfully smooth and naked back that lay prone against him. Letting his eyes explore every inch of her wonderful body, Goulding felt his erection grow again with the mounting sensation of expectation and untold promise. Charlotte was completely naked and vulnerable. The sight of her narrow waist and beautifully curving back and buttocks was every bit as erotic as the memory of what they had done the previous evening. He could still taste her on his lips and her unique perfume still clung to his fingers, further arousing him and leaving him aching for more.

  As he cuddled up to her back, he curled an arm around her waist and reached up to cup her left breast. It was only when his erection, as hard and unyielding as iron, pressed against the small of her back that she stirred against him.

  “Hello, Senator,” she purred and pressed back against him. He shifted his position slightly to accommodate her. “I don’t remember ordering a wakeup call.”

  Her soft yielding flesh crushed his engorged phallus into the valley of her buttocks and as he bent to kiss her neck, her delicate perfume and warm, sweet skin filled his senses entirely.

  Charlotte continued to move against him. In an almost involuntary motion, he began to thrust himself between the cleft of her buttocks. It felt wonderful and incredibly intimate despite the fact that he hadn’t even penetrated her. As the friction increased, it created warmth that merely added to the overall sensation. When the pleasant rubbing sensation became more painful than pleasurable, Goulding withdrew and moved down. He ran his tongue and lips along the valley, kissing a slick, wet trail that would lubricate his passage far more easily.

  As he traced the route for a second time, he went further and flickered the tip of his tongue over the tight knot of her anus and on to the wetness of her sex. Although she moaned and moved against his lips when he licked her pussy, it was the gasp of surprise and pleasure when he tongued her ass that really impressed him. Charlotte was an innocent alright, but she obviously had hidden urges that were waiting to be explored and exploited.

  Goulding wet his cock and returned it to the cleft in
her ass, thrusting against her and kneading her buttocks with his strong hands. After a couple of minutes, he shuffled down slightly, adjusting the angle and path of his cock so that it rubbed over the entrance of her ass with each thrust. Each time she moaned and squirmed against him slightly and his excitement grew and grew. Her hand was between her legs and she was massaging the hard nub of skin that existed as a bastion of pleasure and delight for all women. He decided that the time was right to see just how far Charlotte was willing to go.

  Goulding drew his hips back so that his cock was completely free of her body and standing out straight and erect, instead of folded to follow the path of her skin. He paused for a second and then pushed forward, gently but firmly. Instead of his manhood smoothly following the valley of her buttocks, it pressed against the knotted entrance of her ass, snagging at first and then the first inch slipped smoothly inside her with only the slightest of resistance.

  For a second neither of them moved and Goulding waited for the rebuff that would tell him she wasn’t ready or willing for such an act.

  “Gently,” said Charlotte in a voice that was scared and wanting at the same time.

  “Are you sure Charlie?”

  “Yes…yes I want this. It feels so good. It’s different, but…good and I want to feel you all the way inside me, but you already feel so big and I’m not sure I can take all of you.”

  “I’ll show you Charlie,” said Goulding in a strong, calming voice. “I’ll teach you how. Together we’ll explore everything that there is to offer.”

  Noticing a pot of hand cream on her bedside table, Goulding carefully withdrew and smeared the cream onto himself and Charlotte before lying down again and positioning himself on his side, behind her. He guided himself forward and this time, the lubricated path held even less resistance. Again he paused, with only the tip of his cock embedded within her waiting for her to become accustomed to the sensation.

  He was about to move himself further forward, when she began to move her own hips, surprising him with her eagerness, considering her relative inexperience. Very slowly she pushed herself back onto him, impaling his cock further and further with every movement of her hips, until every inch had been swallowed.