I looked over my shoulder, "It's right across the hall. It looks exactly like this one but more like the library downstairs. I have books and files everywhere, it's a bit of cluttered disaster." I turned back to look in the dark hazel eyes of the woman in front of me.
Dark hazel eyes that saw me for who I really was, making me wonder how lucky I was to stumble across this incredibly complex woman. "You are more than welcome to come in when your room gets too cold." I drew my fingers over her cheek, letting my thumb settle where her one dimple hid, "I assumed you would like your own space now that we are living together."
Kit laughed, leaning into my hand, "Talk about jumping the gun, from first kiss to moving in together." She took a step out of my arms, "I wish my bags would get here, I am freezing." Kit shivered, rubbing at her arms.
I looked around the room, finding the thermostat, "The house is on the same system as Malibu. Rebecca should have turned up the heat before she left." I moved to the thermostat, the system was on high, but since the house was so large, it was taking a while for the heat to circulate through all of the rooms.
I tapped the small digital screen, "Another hour and the house will be perfect." I turned to Kit, "You can borrow one of my sweaters in the meantime."
The doorbell rang loudly throughout the house, I shrugged, "Or I will be right back with your bags." I knew it was Jake, the young man was punctual to a fault and never more than a second or two late.
Kit held up her hand, "I can get them."
I waved her off, "Walk around this floor and explore, I have to talk to Jake about the cars anyways." I ran out of the room and downstairs before she could protest any further.
I met Jake at the door, collecting Kit's bags and the small package I had him pick up after we left. I tipped him heavily, thanking him and carried Kit's bags back upstairs to set them on her bed. I placed the small brown package on top of the suitcases, running my hands over the rough brown edges.
Kit walked out of the bathroom, smiling, "That tub is amazing! I feel like I should pay you rent to stay here."
I laughed lightly, "I don't think you could afford the rent here, even with the paychecks I give you and you don't like to cash." I patted at the suitcases, "Everything is here. I will let you get unpacked and settled in for a little bit. I have a few emails and phone calls to make before we decide on dinner." I picked up the small brown package, "Here, this is for you."
Kit smiled sheepishly, "Is it another gun? Or a better holster?" She took the box from me slowly.
I grinned, knowing what was in the box, "It's neither. It's a small gift."
Kit furrowed her brow at me, "A gift? I don't think I have done anything to deserve a gift?"
I sighed, "Just open it, Kit." I rolled my eyes at the redhead who hesitated to open the package. I gave her a firm look and she rolled her eyes, sliding a finger under the lid of the box. "Claire, you don't have to give me gifts, if anything, I owe you a gift or two for everything you have done." She kept talking as she opened the lid, her voice fading away when she saw the contents.
Kit set the box down on the pale grey comforter, reaching into the box with both hands, she pulled out a small picture frame. She held it up as a huge grin spilled across her face, the dimples making their first appearance in this house. She turned to look at me, showing me the picture frame, "How?"
I moved closer, motioning to the box, "Keaton sent me pictures of us feeding the penguins, thinking I could use them as promotional items for my next campaign. I saw this one and asked him to print it out and send it." I pointed at the box, "There's one more thing in there, it's a little cheesy, but I couldn't help it." Kit held the picture of her kneeling in front of Norbert holding her hands out to him right before he snuggled up to her. She pressed it against her chest, reaching back into the box and removed a small stuffed penguin that looked exactly like Norbert.
She laughed out loud when she held the small stuffed animal in her hand, "Norbert, my fish eating boyfriend." Kit turned to me, still grinning and happy. "This is amazing Claire, cheesy, but amazing."
I moved to stand next to her, my hand finding her upper arm so I could pull her to face me, "The picture I wanted you to have, because it was the first time I ever saw you happy. The first time I saw you smile like you are now. That was the moment I fell in love with you and decided I would do anything to see that smile again and as often as possible." I watched Kit's eyes gloss over.
I nodded at Norbert in her hands, "And Norbert here, is to remind you of how much you mean to others." I bent forward, brushing my lips over hers. Smiling at the way her lips trembled when I wouldn't close the small space between us and kiss her. I leaned back to tease her more when I felt a strong hand grip the back of my head and pull me to her. Our lips meeting harder than the last few times we kissed.
I moaned at the pressure and the slight nip of her teeth on my bottom lip. I held Kit's jaw with my hand, steadying her so I could taste every inch of her mouth and not worry about her backing away. My tongue found hers, pulling a whimper from the woman that almost made my knees give out.
Instead of collapsing from weakened knees, I wrapped my other arm around her waist to hold Kit steady and hold myself up. We kissed passionately, feverishly and when I felt her breasts push harder against mine I felt a slight gasp pass over my lips. I went to lean back from the kiss, finding Kit still holding onto my bottom lip lightly with her teeth, letting me go when she felt ready to, smirking when she did finally release me.
I looked down hazily at the woman who was licking her lips, looking at me with a dark sensual look that sent a lightning bolt straight through to the middle of my body. I swallowed down a dry throat, wiggling free from our bodies melded together. I ran a hand over my hair, smoothing out the part Kit had tangled in her hand, "Um, We should think about dinner." Dinner was the last thing I was thinking about.
Kit bit her lip, flushed and grinning, "Yeah dinner." She looked down at the stuffed penguin in an attempt to cool down.
I folded my arms across my chest awkwardly, "Okay, I will, um, be in the kitchen?" I turned to leave, "You can meet me down there and we can decide carry out or I can try to cook something." I was fumbling like a teenager, that kiss took my breath away and made me want to increase the temperature in the room the old fashioned way. I nodded to no one and walked to the door when I heard.
"Claire, how did I ever manage to get so lucky to have you fall into my life?" Kit was looking at me with a soft genuine smile, her eyes void of the desire that was there just seconds ago, replaced by an honest need to know why.
I dropped my gaze down at the hardwood floors under my feet, "I think the same thing about you, Kit." I made the moment even more awkward by saying nothing more and leaving to go to the kitchen. There was nothing more to say or think in that moment. We had stumbled upon each other in the strangest circumstances with no way to explain it other than it was what it was.
In the kitchen I stood in front of the open fridge, looking over the bland and boring organic health food I forced myself to eat. I closed the fridge after a few minutes and opened the drawer full of carry out menus, digging around for my favorite Chinese restaurant menu, my phone vibrating in my back pocket.
Checking it I saw there were a few emails filing in, one was about the charity ball and it being moved up from next week to this week, three days away. I groaned at the idea of having to throw on a gown and mingle around the sea of politicians and their mundane spouses. I replied to the email with great hesitation and went through the rest.
The last one caught my attention. It was from Rebecca.
-Claire,
My back channels have picked up some chatter. The New Church of the Rising Son has popped up in the D.C area. One of their men was picked up on a traffic warrant. The police found surveillance photos of you out at the beach house and then at the Dulles airport only two hours ago. Metro is interviewing the man, trying to pry more information out. All they could get from him was him repea
ting the same thing, "Senator Avondale will get what is coming to her. The lord frowns upon those who try to take his place in the kingdom."
I have sent the information to Kit and adjusted the security systems accordingly. I suggest you exercise extreme caution if you are out in public. They are bold enough to make a public attack.
I will forward everything I hear from my contacts. As always, Claire, if you need me I will be there.
Please be careful.
R. -
I clicked on the attachment she sent me. Photographs of the worn down Ford pickup taken in as evidence by Metro and the handful of pictures spread out on the dashboard of the truck then all over a dirty kitchen table in a house. There was a picture of Kit and I on the tarmac, running through the cold wind with a few snowflakes fluttering around us. The photo was taken just as we landed. I sighed hard and closed the email, rubbing at my eyes.
All the moments of peace and happiness I felt over the last few hours of being back home were torn apart. They knew when I was home and where I was at any given time. It was only a matter of time before I would face another attack or incident. This time it there was more to lose because I was in love with the woman who would give her life to keep me safe.
Chapter 16
I spent the few minutes after Claire left setting my random articles of clothing in drawers and hanging up suits in the almost empty closet. The smile on my face would not fade, it would only grow bigger when I caught glances of little Norbert sitting against my pillows.
Setting my gun in the bedside table, I hesitated and looked over at the armoire. Sighing as it hit even harder that things were not perfect even if they began to feel like they were. There would always be something greater hanging over Claire and I, the ultimate focus always being keeping her safe. I pushed the drawer shut, hiding the matte black gun in its leather holster from view. I would try to enjoy this first night with Claire in this new house, give my mind one moment of joy to hold onto before the dust began to kick up again.
Tossing the empty duffel bags into the bottom of the closet, I shut the heavy ornate wooden door, laughing to myself at how everything in this room felt so organic and earthy when the bedroom in Malibu felt sterile and stone. This was the two sides of Claire in many ways, the clean easy woman and the staunch fierce scientist and politician.
I walked down the fancy curved staircase to find Claire in the kitchen. Running my hand down the polished handrail I wondered why such a woman would choose the political party she did to align with. I cared very little about politics, the political parties, and agendas. Only caring about the safety of those politicians I was assigned to protect. I had found that people were shitty no matter what side of the aisle they stood on, politics had nothing to do with the overall personality. Shitty people were just shitty people whether they rode the donkey or the elephant.
I found Claire sitting on the counter top next to the fridge, trolling over a carry out menu.
I stopped at the massive cook top island in the fancy kitchen, throwing myself to mirror Claire, sitting up on the black granite counter, letting my legs sway. "Do you ever cook? Or should I ask, do you actually know how to cook?"
Claire half smiled without ever looking up from the grease spotted and well-worn Chinese restaurant carry out menu, "To be honest, no I really don't know how to cook. I can make boxed things following the directions on the side and I can bake like a maniac, all thanks to Davidek's mother and her forcing me to learn how to make cakes for my parent's birthdays." She held the menu out to me, "But preparing meals for myself, I struggle at." Claire shrugged, "I may appear to be perfect, but it's a façade I hide behind. A façade the world handed down to me." Claire slid off the counter, opening the fridge to pull out two bottles of tea, "Not only can I not roller skate, I can't cook anything edible. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 19; I am deathly and oddly afraid of tornados and crazy thunderstorms that shake the house when the thunder strikes." She slid a glass bottle towards me, looking up in my eyes still smiling, "And lastly I once spent a night in jail."
My eyes widened as I popped the metal cap on the tea bottle, "Wait, you were in jail? And 19 for a driver's license?"
Claire laughed, nodding as she climbed back up on the counter to sit next to me, leaning against me so she could point at the menu in my hands, "The sesame chicken is the best." She tapped at the menu, "Get the extra egg rolls, trust me you won't want just one after the first bite."
I leaned against the blonde, "You are ignoring the questions, Senator." I poked her in the leg with the menu, "Answer me."
Claire rolled her eyes, clasping the cold bottle in her hands, "I was thirteen, Davidek and I thought that I was smart enough to read a book on driving and know how to do it like Mario Andretti explained in the text. I read the book in two hours and we snuck into the garage. Taking out my father's vintage Ferrari Spyder." She took a deep breath as the embarrassing smile crossed her face, "The text book had nothing about how to properly operate a manual gear. I quickly ground up the transmission on the vintage car and when I finally was able to get the car into fourth gear, Davidek and I had no idea how fast we were going down the main street in town until the cop car tried to pull us over. I panicked and couldn't downshift. Needless to say Davidek and I led the officer on a high-speed chase. I yanked the emergency brake and dumped the car into a flooded ditch. Hood first."
Claire sipped at her tea, chuckling at an old memory, "Davidek and I were taken into custody for suspected grand theft auto, fleeing, evading the police, and driving without a license, insurance or registration." Claire looked at me, "We spent the night in jail because his mother refused to bail us out while my parents were up in New York City for a weekend trip. She told the police I needed to learn my lesson. I found out later, my father had ensured no charges were formally filed against me. He had gone to high school with the Chief of police. I learned my lesson without carrying a record."
She ran a hand over her hair, tucking it behind her ears as she bit her lip slightly, "Sleeping alone in a concrete musty cell scared me witless and I thought I was a convict going to the big house in the morning." Claire bumped me with her shoulder, "And that is why I didn't get my license until I was 19. I had to pay my father back for the damages to the Spyder and my fines for my youthful indiscretion, before he allowed me to get my license. The Spyder was one of fifteen still existing in the world and literally priceless. It took me six years and a lot of after school and summer jobs working with Davidek's parents to make up the money to pay him back. The only thing that saved me was when he bought a new agate melding formula from me." Claire slid off the counter, "I think he only did it because he took pity on me. I was in my last summer at home and my father felt bad that I had wasted most of my youth working like a dog instead of enjoying the life of a crazy teenager."
Claire picked up the phone next to the coffee pot, setting it next to me on the counter, "What he didn't understand was that the best memories I have is working with Davidek and his family. They made me feel like a normal person and not the wealthy heir I was, am."
I smiled at the blonde, taking the slim silver phone from her, "Is that why you chose to become a Republican Senator?"
Claire shook her head, "I have no real deep rooted convictions in one political party or another, that's how my parents lived and how I was raised. I did start out as a Democratic candidate when I ran for my first local office. In time, while researching the Criterion Centre and figuring out what I wanted to do there, I found choosing to be a Republican was easier for me to hide and have access to the Federal Agencies I needed to keep tabs on. The military has sought out my research for years, and I found being on their side, so to speak, helped keep them off my back until recently. I still do the work I see fit all across the political system."
Claire drank from her tea, "I am what the media calls a new progressive Republican, one who straddles the line of the two parties. One reporter once called me a Republocrat since I had both s
ides voting for me unanimously in my Senate race. I handle issues and vote what is right for my supporters while keeping an open mind. The party choice is just a title to keep people like Fields and his friends on my side." She smiled at me, "Hiding in plain sight is often the best course of action." Claire set the bottle down, moving closer to me, "I have no agenda other than to help people the best way I can."
Claire placed her hands on my knees, "So are you going to order the food before the place closes or am I going to have to make you suffer through my terrible attempts at making something out of a box?" She grinned, squeezing my knees, "I want the almond chicken with extra sauce, egg rolls and extra chicken fried rice."
I leaned forward, kissing her quickly, "Hungry?"
Claire ran her hands further up my thighs, "Starving." She kissed me back, moving away before my hands focused on grabbing her and not grabbing the phone to dial it. Claire pointed at the phone, "They already know the address and phone number, so don't be surprised if they crack jokes thinking it's me." She turned, scooping up the tea bottle, "I’ll set the table."
I watched Claire move to the tiny buffet set under a large window. Night had fallen and the light from the moon bouncing off the falling snow pushed through the window, giving the small sitting area a romantic glow. I dialed the number on the menu, watching Claire grab for plates and other things to set the table. I loved how perfectly imperfect Claire was as she told me more about her life. She did carry the air of being a perfect heiress, but hearing about how she was in jail and petrified to get her driver's license made me smile more. She was like an onion, layer after layer would be peeled back to expose the woman to just be a very normal woman that worked for everything she had.
I held the phone up to my ear listening to it ring twice before a cheery female voice with a slight Chinese accent answered.
"Oh Hello my number one customer! It's been two weeks and no order, you must have been on vacation Claire."
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