Misadventures of the First Daughter (Misadventures Book 5)

by Meredith Wild

  Chester frowns. “The last time I agreed to that, the two of you snuck off.”

  I place my hand on his arm. “I think I learned my lesson, Chester.”

  He purses his lips, looking back and forth between Katherine and me.

  I hold my breath, knowing the fate of my night now rests in his hands. “I won’t leave the hotel, Chester. I swear.”

  He knits his brows together. “Don’t make me regret this, Charley. I mean it.”

  Relief barrels into me like a freight train. Thank God.

  “I won’t, Chester. Thank you.” I give him a quick kiss on the cheek, and without another word I follow Katherine to the elevator.

  Once the metal doors close, she blows out a long breath. “Jesus Christ, that was close. For a second there, I thought he was going to say no.” She hands me a room key card out of her jeweled clasp. “You’re in suite twelve seventy-eight. Zane’s already upstairs waiting for you.”

  I look down at the key card in my hand. Just holding it makes everything become so real, so final.

  Katherine nudges me. “Cheer up. Tonight will be amazing.”

  I look up, tears stinging my eyes. “I know it will be. But it’s going to be our last. I leave for New York tonight. My mother is insisting on it.”

  Katherine’s eyes widen. “Shit. Why?”

  The elevator climbs and I take in a deep breath, forcing myself to hold it together. I can’t cry. Zane can’t see me upset. Tonight has to be perfect.

  “Doesn’t matter. But Zane can’t know until I’m gone.”

  She turns me to face her and gives my arms a gentle squeeze, as if reading my troubled thoughts. “Just focus on making every moment with him a memorable one.”

  The elevator chimes as it reaches my floor. I straighten my dress and step out into the hallway. I’m surprised when Katherine follows behind me.

  “I’ll meet you back here at ten,” she says, retrieving another room key card out of her clasp.

  I blink a few times before she winks.

  “Let’s just say you’re not the only one who will be having a good time tonight.”

  With a laugh, we part ways and move in opposite directions down the hall. I count down each door that I pass until I’m finally standing in front of the suite. I tap my foot on the ornate carpeted floor, determined to put tonight’s flight to New York out of my mind until our time is up.

  My hand trembles as I slide the key card into the door. It beeps and opens, and I step inside, letting the door glide shut behind me. Zane stands on the other end of the room. He’s dressed in dark jeans and a thin navy blue sweater that hugs his muscular chest. In one breathless moment, I’m leveled by his presence, his intense gaze, and the love that radiates there.

  It doesn’t last long, because he crosses the distance between us in a few long strides. Then I’m engulfed in his embrace, held close by his strong arms. I melt into him, pressing my nose into his chest to breathe him in. The urge to cry hits me hard, but I fight it.

  Zane pulls back and cradles my face. Before I can take my next breath or tell him how much I truly love him, his lips are sealed over mine. His smoky flavor hits me with a rush of memories I’ve relived a thousand times since Nate’s death ripped us apart. Tonight we’ll make new ones I’ll carry with me forever.

  My hands find his hair, and I tug him closer to me, deepening our kiss. Zane moans into my mouth as he begins walking us back into the room. He turns us and my back hits the wall. He breaks our passionate kiss, leaving me breathless as he feverishly begins working his mouth down the side of my neck. I can feel the moisture gathering in my panties. I haven’t even been through the door a full minute.

  “I’ve missed you. So fucking much,” Zane pants against my ear. “I told myself I would be gentle with you, that I would take things slow. But I don’t think I can.”

  His erection presses into my stomach, making my pussy ache with need. I tug off his sweater and drop my hands between us, working to unfasten the front of his jeans. “It’s been too long. I need you inside me, Zane. Don’t make me wait.”

  His eyes darken when I push his jeans past his hips, causing his cock to spring free. I reach for him but he hoists me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist. I hear a rip as he tears my panties free. Never breaking his intense stare, he aligns himself beneath me. As he lowers me onto his length, I search his eyes, slave to the delicious way he stretches me. We both let out a simultaneous sigh when he’s joined us completely. I’m so sensitive that I already feel myself tightening around his cock.

  His first thrusts are slow and careful, but that doesn’t slow down the rush of my orgasm. He’s barely gotten inside me and I’m ready to scream out in ecstasy.

  “It’s too good, Zane. I’m so close. Please, let me come.”

  Bracing his hands beneath my ass, Zane begins pumping in and out of me. Each drive of his body into mine is more desperate, more forceful than the one before.

  “I’ll give you anything, Charlotte,” he rasps.

  My heart breaks a little more with his words. I wrap my arms around his neck, needing to be as close to him as possible.

  “Look at me, baby. I want to see you when you let go.”

  I’m afraid to show him what hides behind my eyes, but once we lock in, I’m overwhelmed. The connection between us soars past the physical. Our hearts are joined, and I’ve never known anything like it. With one forceful push of his cock, I surrender. The blissful climax takes me under, and I lose myself in his gray eyes and the love I see reflected there.

  We may not have forever together, but tonight I’m going to pretend we do.

  ZANE

  After all this time, watching Charlotte come in my arms levels me. I’ve never experienced anything like it. Everything about our connection reinforces the desperate way I’ve felt without her.

  As eager as I am to continue fucking her against this wall, that’s not how I want our first night back together to be. Tightening my grip on her ass, I pull her in for a kiss and carry her toward the king-size bed.

  I slip out of her and ease her down until she is standing. I recognize her dress as the one she wore to Crave. I rest my forehead against hers as I now reach for its zipper.

  “Charlotte… God, you’re so beautiful. You owned me the minute you walked into that club wearing this dress,” I say as I inch the zipper down her back. The fabric loosens at the top, allowing me to pull the straps down the sides of her arms. My heart stops when I see the scar across her chest. I bring my fingertips tenderly across it, pain heavy in my heart.

  “I’m so sorry.” My voice is hoarse and low with unfathomable regret. “I should have been quicker. I should have protected you better.” My mind flashes back to the image of her bleeding on the ground. Blinking out of the thought, I look at her with tears in my eyes. “I almost lost you.”

  She reaches for my face, skimming her palms along my clean-shaven jaw. “I’m alive because of you. You saved me.” She moves her hands to touch the scar on my shoulder. “This connects us. It always will.”

  I drag in a painful breath. “I love you, Charlotte.” The words fall effortlessly from my lips. For all the time I’d agonized over telling her, I know now the sentiment lingered in my heart for far longer.

  “I love you too.” She blinks up at me, her gaze seeming to say more. “I’ll always love you,” she whispers tearfully.

  I can’t watch her cry. Not tonight. Tonight is for us, for her. I push her dress down to the floor, lower my lips to hers, and ease her backward onto the bed. Her long blond waves spill across the dark bedding, creating a halo of gold. She looks so beautiful that it takes my breath away. I position myself between her legs and pause just as the tip of my cock reaches her opening. Our eyes never waver as I push into her. Once I’m fully inside, I pause, savoring the way she tightens around me.

  “Nothing has ever felt as perfect as you, as this,” I breathe across her ear as I thrust again.

  Charlotte slides her hands
to my ass, urging me to go deeper, faster. I quicken my pace, giving her exactly what she wants. She’s already close. I know I won’t be able to hold out much longer.

  I grab her thigh and lift it against her chest, sinking deeper into her body. The simple change of angle is enough to send her over. Charlotte throws her head back and cries out. I can’t hold on any longer. Her orgasm triggers my own release. I wrap my arms around her waist and thrust into her body one last time with a feral groan—the sound of all the weeks of longing for her and not knowing if we could ever be together again.

  Sated physically and so high on the intense love I carry for this woman, I roll onto my back and pull her into my arms. She rests her head against my chest and we lie there trying to catch our breath. Our time together is so limited. There is so much I want to say to her, so much I want to do.

  “I’m going to fix this, Charlotte. No matter what it takes. I promise you, I’m going to find a way we can be together.”

  Charlotte raises her head and places a finger over my lips to silence me. “We’re together right now. Let’s not waste a single second of it.”

  Silently, she brings her body over mine, straddling me until my cock slides against her folds. Even though we’ve just had an explosive round of sex, my cock is already hard for her again. She inches herself down onto my length, her eyes closing with a soft sigh.

  She’s beautiful, sexy, and perfect. I want to revel in all of it, but something’s changed between us. Each thrust, each touch feels as if she is somehow saying goodbye.

  I shrug into my jacket and get ready to head back to View 17. My body hums with the memory of our incredible night together. It’s the only thing keeping my heart in one piece right now. Saying goodbye to her, if only for now, was far from easy. I promised her more nights like this, but not knowing when I’ll see her next already has me ready to climb the walls.

  I reach for my keys when I hear a light knock on the door. I look through the peephole and recognize Katherine standing in the hallway. The moment I open the door and catch the solemn look on her face, dread washes over me.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She glances up and down the hallway. “Can I come in for a second?”

  “Yeah, sure.” I step back and allow her into the room.

  “Charlotte wanted me to give this to you.” She holds out a long ivory envelope. I take it from her and rip it open. The folded handwritten note is long, but I only have to read the first line to understand its purpose.

  I shoot her a desperate look. “She’s leaving for New York tonight? Why didn’t she tell me?”

  Katherine gives me a tight smile. “Her mother called and demanded that she leave tonight. Charlotte didn’t tell you because she didn’t want to ruin your last night together.”

  My instinct is to argue with Katherine, but she’s only the messenger. I step away from her, my shaking hands making it hard to read the rest of the note. I start from the beginning, Charlotte’s voice clear in my head.

  Dear Zane,

  By the time you read this, I’ll be on my way to New York, back to a life I thought I’d always wanted. You and I will have spent another incredible night together—one I’ll never forget.

  For those on the outside looking in, mine seems to be a charmed life. You’ve always known better. No one will truly understand my world the way you have.

  Despite everything I’ve been through, spending the last two months apart from you has been the most painful time of my life. Sometimes I can’t believe that getting shot isn’t penance enough to be with you the way I desperately want to be. Instead, it’s a wound that will never heal because the rest of the world and circumstances beyond our control will never let us be together. If you come after me, my parents will punish me, but they’ll stop at nothing to ruin you. I just can’t live with that.

  You saved my life, Zane. You’ve taught me what real love can feel like. You don’t deserve to suffer for their ignorance. Neither of us do. But this is my life. It’s the one I’ve always known, and I have to believe that I’m stronger for the lessons it’s taught me and the experiences it’s given me. After all, this crazy life brought me to you…

  I will never stop loving you, Zane. Know that, in my heart, I’m kneeling for you, craving your touch, never far from the memories of us. I will always hold them close. Always…

  All my love,

  Charlotte

  I crumple the letter in my hand as the door clicks shut, leaving me alone with her goodbye.

  Every path to Charlotte is closed. Every crack in my heart is jagged and broad, bleeding with the love I hold for her. I’m raw. I’ve just held her, made love to her, recommitted to finding a way to be together. Every instinct tells me to run and find her and make this right, but the letter in my hand keeps me still, paralyzed by her wish.

  Chapter Twelve

  Charlotte

  One year later…

  Happiness bubbles through me like the champagne fizzing in my glass. Leianna, the posh art director at the King Gallery prattles on with Katherine about the success of the night. I can’t disagree. In addition to a host of prominent artists and New York elite, several friends I’ve made between New York and DC and the private schools I’d attended in New England have come out to see my first show. Having so many eyes on my work is humbling and a little terrifying, but the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

  Being who I am, carrying the label of the President’s daughter despite the life I’ve worked hard to carve out in New York, I’d prepared myself to face criticism. The collection I’d titled “A Life in Gray” was edgier than anything I’d done before. Raw and vulnerable, the pieces had been inspired by a particularly progressive NYU art professor who’d encouraged me to release myself from everything that was holding me back: the constant pressure of my parents—notably and mercifully absent opening tonight—and everything else brought on by one of the most emotionally challenging years of my life.

  The result was a series of paintings that had helped me process the years I’d spent in the pressure cooker of political life. Of course, among those experiences, nothing had hit me harder than losing Zane. Letting him go had been selfless in some ways, selfish in others. I wanted him for myself, at nearly any cost. But I couldn’t live with the guilt of knowing he might sacrifice his career for us—a career earned through years of harrowing military service. I refused to accept that he would lose it all for me.

  “I’m just so proud of you!” Katherine’s smile can’t be contained. She throws her arm around my shoulder and squeezes me against her, nearly splashing her champagne out of her glass as she does.

  “They were simply head over heels for the collection, darling,” Leianna says. “Even the critics. Just wait for the features that will come. This is only the beginning, trust me.” She waves gracefully as her assistant comes up and whispers something in her ear, drawing her attention away from us. “Oh?” Her thinly plucked brows wrinkle into a frown.

  “Is everything okay?” I glance around. The crowd has thinned out and the show is coming to a close. The entrance to the gallery is guarded by security, my usual team among them.

  “Someone’s insisting on seeing you. He tried to come in through the back, but our security stopped him,” the young girl says.

  “Who is it?”

  Leianna shakes her head. “It’s fine. We’ll take care of it. You shouldn’t have to worry about these sorts of things, tonight of all nights.” She waves off her assistant.

  I watch the girl dressed in all black disappear toward the offices in the back of the gallery. I’ll never be the same since the shooting. Paranoia and concern about my safety hang over me like a cloud on a daily basis, reinforced by the ever-present team of Secret Service agents who shadow my every move. But what I feel now isn’t that same unsettling threat of danger I’m used to.

  “Excuse me for a moment,” I force a smile and leave Katherine and Leianna, tracing the steps of her assistant toward the back.


  I hear the girl’s voice after she turns the corner, slipping out of sight. “I’ve spoken with my boss. I’m sorry, but the event is for approved guests only. There are no exceptions.”

  “Will you just tell her I’m here? I only want a moment of her time,” a male voice answers. A voice that vibrates over my skin like nothing ever has. Or nothing since…

  “Zane?” I turn the corner, his name on my lips the second he comes into view. He’s dressed in a black suit over a black collared shirt that’s unbuttoned at the neck. A simple but sophisticated look that nearly knocks me breathless.

  Two men in suits flank the doorway, their postures defensive. When Zane takes a step toward me, they raise their arms in unison to push him back.

  “Stop,” I say, pushing between them. “He’s a friend. It’s fine.”

  The agents look at me and then each other before stepping back to let Zane pass. He reaches out for me but stops, lets his hands drop to his sides, and balls them into tight fists that match his tense jaw. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I just wanted—”

  “Come with me.”

  Without another word, I take his hand and lead him into the gallery’s green room where I’d left my personal things. I shut the door behind us and turn to face him. He’s still gorgeous, but there’s something different about him. His hair is longer, and he seems even bigger than I remember. Who is he now? A year has gone by. I’ve changed… Has he?

  He licks his lips, a sensual motion that sends a sudden rush of heat over my skin. His gaze journeys up and down my body, before settling on the floor. “I’m sorry, Charlotte. I didn’t mean to upset your night. I heard about the opening. I didn’t want to cause a scene or get you in any trouble. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you.”

  His words twist my heart, but the danger he’s put himself in for me can’t be ignored.