by Jayne Blue
A murmur rose in the crowd toward the other end of the room. A few men in suits filed in taking strategic positions. Secret Service. I took two steps back out into the hall. I couldn’t see him anywhere, but it sure as hell seemed like the man himself might be planning a surprise early appearance. A flare of jealousy went through me that I didn’t like one bit. Jillian had sworn to me her appointment hadn’t come with sexual strings attached. But there was no bigger tabloid town than DC. Every raised brow in the room made me want to punch a hole in something.
I stepped back into the ballroom. Jillian was nearly finished and had gone far off script. She talked about her first meeting with the president that seemed to endear her to the crowd even more.
“Makes it pretty obvious why he put her on the bench, don’t you think?”
I’d been so focused on Jillian, I hadn’t noticed the gorgeous blonde now standing at my shoulder. I did a double take that made her laugh.
“It’s no good, Marshal Huckman,” she said. “You’re doing a terrible job hiding the fact that you’re in love with her. I can’t say as I blame you. At the moment the whole room is in love with her. At least, those that aren’t plotting how to take her down.”
I cocked my head to the side and looked at her. Tall and buxom, she wore an emerald green suit that was cut high enough to almost be indecent. Almost. She was familiar. Recognition played at the corners of my mind but I was so keyed up about Jillian I couldn’t figure it out. She put a hand on my shoulder and jerked her chin toward an empty table in front of us.
“Sit down,” she said. “We need to talk.”
She handed me a business card and walked to the table to wait for me. I glanced at the name and raised a brow. Vallin Consulting.
“Nina Sharpe,” she said, extending her hand to mine as I pulled out a chair for her. She crossed her legs, showing off her four-inch heels. She smiled to a group of senators seated at a nearby table and then looked back up at me.
Nina Sharpe. Shit. I knew her. Well, I knew of her. Vallin Consulting was a PR firm. A high level “fixer” of political scandals. But it was also a front for one of the most elite escort services in the world. The woman sitting beside me was probably the world’s most powerful madame. Rumor was, Nina Sharpe was a king maker. Some said President Vance himself owed part of his rise to power to her even as most people assumed they had a relationship before he was elected. Whatever the truth was, she traveled in powerful circles. If she wanted to talk to me, she had information I might need.
Jillian’s speech ended and she started shaking hands with the crowd. “I think that’s my cue, Ms. Sharpe,” I said.
“Sit down, Mr. Huckman,” she said. I looked back toward Jillian. Two secret service agents had flanked her. One of them whispered something in her ear. Jillian’s brow went up and she searched the room, looking for me, maybe. My back stiffened. I felt pulled to her like a tractor beam. Nina put a firm hand on my arm as I started to rise. She coolly raised her finger to attract a waiter. I had my eyes on Jillian. The agent beside her said something else to her and she nodded, then followed him straight out of the room and out of my sight. My blood pressure rose as I realized what was going on. I looked back at Nina.
She had a neutral smile on her face as one of the waiters came by with a glass of wine. He offered the tray to me but I declined, going for the water glass on the table.
“Judge Key is quite safe for the moment,” Nina said. She kept that cool smile on her face and nodded to a few guests on the other side of the room that had caught her eye.
I leaned back in my chair, feeling played. “Did he send you?”
Nina looked at me and raised a brow. She sipped her wine then set it in front of her. “Who?”
“Your commander in chief.”
Nina shot me a coy smile then reached across the table to pick a piece of lint from my sleeve. “Do you always jump to conclusions so quickly, Deputy?”
I realized she wasn’t talking about the damn president anymore. “So how bad is it?”
She shrugged. “Well, you certainly made things interesting this evening. Although, I’d wager more than half the people here would have given anything to see the look on Sheldon Pierce’s face when you clocked him.”
I laughed. “I didn’t clock him. I just made him turn purple and stop breathing for about two seconds.”
She took another sip of wine then raised her glass toward me. “Well, good for you. I’d say a girl could do worse than having you as her knight in shining armor.”
“So is that the other thing that has tongues wagging this evening?” God, I hated this. As much as I knew my instincts about Pierce could be right, I hadn’t wanted to draw any negative attention to Jillian.
“No,” Nina said. She twisted the stem of her wine glass. “I just have unusually acute powers of perception when it comes to matters of the heart. And you happen to be wearing yours on your sleeve.”
“Ah. So you were sent here to warn me. Back off or else? Am I encroaching on the president’s territory?” God, I actually hated the tone I was taking. I couldn’t help it. Jillian was the one who didn’t do well with things out of her control. But at that moment, my own lack of control tore at me. Political fortunes were won and lost at events like this. In the process of trying to protect her, I’d cast a spotlight on her she didn’t need.
She arched a brow and smiled at me. “Does she know?”
“Know what?”
Nina’s shoulders shook with sparkling laughter. “That you’re in love with her. Or, more importantly, did you know?”
Sweat trickled between my shoulder blades. Jillian had been out of my sight for too damn long. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Sharpe, but Secret Service or not, Judge Key is under my protection tonight. I’m on duty.”
She put a light hand over my wrist. “Calm down and sit down. You’re about to draw attention to yourself again. You know, it must frustrate her no end how thick-headed you are when it comes to her. I’m sure it was endearing at first. That’s how it is for most women. But then it starts to get old. Believe me, I’ve had some experience with this, Deputy Huckman. You have to know the odds aren’t good in situations like yours. Someone almost always ends up getting hurt. So, my advice to you is to decide fairly quickly what’s most important to you and then fight for it, no matter what.”
She leveled her cool, knowing gaze on me with such intensity my spine prickled. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re some kind of witch, Ms. Sharpe.”
She laughed at that. “Oh, you wouldn’t be the first to guess that. But honestly? None of what I just said is why I wanted to talk to you.”
I settled back into my chair. “Okay. You’ve piqued my interest. I’ve heard plenty of rumors about you too.”
“I’m sure you have. But I can promise you, most of it is probably true. What’s also true is that I’m one of the good guys and I suspect … no … I know that Jillian Key is too. Am I wrong about that?”
I let out a breath. “No.” My voice came out in a choked whisper. “You’re not wrong. She’s the best there is.”
“Good. So tell me what’s going on and maybe we can do something about it.”
I scanned the room. Jillian still hadn’t re-entered. The Secret Service agents had left. “Why do I think you already know exactly what’s going on?” I turned to Nina.
“Fine. We’ll play it your way. She’s in trouble. That’s what I know.”
I nodded. “Someone is going to very great lengths to try and destroy her any way they can.”
Nina ran her finger over the rim of her now empty wine glass. A waiter came by with another but she waved him off. “What do they have on her?”
I tapped my fist against the table and pursed my lips.
“Deputy Huckman, trust me. There’s nothing you can tell me I haven’t already heard. And you’re wasting both of our time. Ask around, I have experience dealing with way worse than whatever it is you think you’re protecting
her from. And … the horses I back always win. Always. Do you understand?”
I couldn’t help but smile. She looked at me with piercing eyes that seemed to change color with her mood.
“Video or pictures,” she said through that cool smile.
I shook my head and marveled at her. “Video. She had an unscrupulous ex. He met an untimely demise a few days ago. Although we’ve got the originals, we can’t be sure he hadn’t stashed a copy somewhere for safe keeping or gave them to someone else.”
“Well, these things tend to follow predictable channels. If the motive is money, it’ll be easy. If it’s straight-up ruination, that can be a bit trickier, but not impossible. I’ll do what I can.”
With that, Nina nodded and pushed her chair back. I immediately stood and helped her. She had a silk wrap that had slid to the floor. I leaned down to get it. She stepped back toward me and as I placed it around her shoulders she leaned back.
“We won’t meet again,” she whispered.
She gave a smile and wave to a gentleman on the other side of the room that looked familiar to me too. Big guy. Dark haired. He’d had his eyes on Nina the entire time and looked about as uncomfortable being here as I did, scanning the room for threats. He was former or current law enforcement, no doubt. She went to him and never looked back at me.
Movement caught my eye in the hallway and I saw a few of the Secret Service agents filing out of one of the suites across from the lobby. My heart quickened and I headed their way. I got halfway down the hall before two of them formed a human barricade and stood shoulder to shoulder with their arms folded in front of them.
“That’s far enough, Deputy,” one of them said. They could have been twins with their blond buzz cuts, identical height, and cold expressions. I started to protest, but a door opened behind them. Two more agents stepped out and took positions against the wall.
Then Jillian walked out looking radiant. Her eyes lit up when she turned back toward the door. The president walked out behind her. I saw naked lust in his eyes as he looked her up and down. He had a hand on the small of her back and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.
I balled my fists to my side and waited. When Jillian turned and caught my eye, her smile faltered and she stepped away from the president. It was too late though. I’d seen enough.
Chapter Twenty
Jillian
Huck sat in stony silence as we rode back to the cabin. Gemma stayed back at the main lodge. Huck pulled up the driveway and parked the cart at an angle. He scanned the woods around us then opened the front door, making a sweeping gesture with his arm, beckoning me inside.
“Don’t start,” I said as I brushed past him.
I pulled my pearl earrings out and slipped off my heels. When I turned to face him, he leaned against the door with his arms crossed. A mixture of emotions crossed his expression. He’d been like that ever since I met him in the hallway after leaving the president’s company.
“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” I said, throwing one of my shoes hard on the ground.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re pissed at me.”
He ran a hand across his face. “Can we not do this now? It’s late. I’m tired. You’re tired. I have to check in with Loomis.”
“So you are pissed at me. I can’t not do this right now. This weekend is important. Do you understand that? More than half of the people in that room don’t want me in my job. Or they didn’t support my appointment in the first place. They feel like President Vance squandered a favor.”
Huck slammed his fist against the door. He pushed himself off and charged past me, ending up near the fireplace. He rested his arm on the mantle and seethed.
“Is there something you want to ask me?” I went right up to him and pushed his shoulder to try to get him to face me.
He looked at me, eyes flashing. “He wants you.”
“What?”
“Vance. I saw the way he looked you.”
I threw up my hands. “So you’re just like all the rest of the gossip mongers? Is that what you think he was doing there tonight? Collecting payment?”
“Was he?” Huck turned to me. God, he was huge. He stared down at me, a muscle jumping in his jaw.
“Are you kidding me with this? Jesus.”
Huck pounded his fist against the fireplace with enough force I thought he might break his hand. I put my hands on my hips and let out a breath.
“Huck. Look at me. I don’t know what you think you saw. Matt Vance has never been anything but professional toward me. And I don’t owe you any explanations.”
“Yes, you do!” He was on me. His hands burned hot on my shoulders, his pupils narrowed to pinpoints as he glared at me. “I’m not playing around, Jillian. Not where you’re concerned.”
“Neither am I!” Rage bubbled inside of me. I hated it. More chaos. More mess. Time and again, Huck brought it out in me. Being with him felt like … playing with fire. He pulled me against him and kissed me hard and deep. Even as I wanted to throttle him, he ignited that fire every time. But I couldn’t give into it. Not now.
I tore myself away with force; staggering backward, I covered my swollen lips with the back of my hand. Huck’s eyes were wild with the simmering passion we both shared. His nostrils flared as his breath came hard.
“God. Huck. This is a mess. We are a mess. What the hell am I supposed to do with all of this? Ever since we got here you’ve been downright insane. You’re flying off the handle. You’re jealous. I don’t even know what to say.”
He froze for a fraction of a second. Then his shoulders slumped. The fire went out of his eyes. In its place grew something else. Something grave. He raised his hands and buried his face. Slowly he sank to the couch and reached for me. Turning me, he pulled me forward until I stood between his legs. When he looked up at me, my heart felt torn in two.
“I love you.” He said it so simply I almost didn’t hear it. Then it hit me square in the chest and drove my breath out. I tried to pull back but Huck reached up and took my hands. My knees gave out from the weight of his words. I sank down. He spread his legs. We stayed like that for one beat, then another. I knelt on the floor between his legs as he ran his hands down my shoulders.
“I love you.” He said it again. “And goddammit I have no idea what to do with it. You tore up boxes and threw shit around. Turns out I just act like a jealous asshole.”
Sighing, I pressed my forehead against his. My heart thundered inside my chest. I loved him back. I knew it. I just couldn’t say it. Love meant chaos. Lack of control. Messes I could never manage.
“I love you.” He said it a third time. “But I can’t do this anymore.”
I reared back and looked at him.
“I’m calling Terry in the morning and I’ll ask to be reassigned.”
“Huck …”
He shook his head. “I can’t do my job this way. It’s no good for either one of us.”
“You’re leaving me?”
He smiled. “I can serve you better if I’m on the task force investigating the bombing. We’ll get through this weekend and I’ll make sure you have someone to replace me that’s worthy of … well … worthy of you.”
He could have said a thousand different things but he chose that. My answer burst out of me so quickly I didn’t have time to think. “You’re worthy of me.” Before I let myself mess it up with anything else, I kissed him. I hadn’t planned it. None of it. In the back of my mind I knew the smartest thing to do was agree with him. A clean break that put me back in control. But he loved me and I loved him, even if I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
His hand at the small of my back gave me strength. My fingers played along his solid jaw as his tongue probed deep. He was warm and solid and mine. Finally, we came up for air.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
He smiled as he laced his fingers through my hair. I still knelt on my knees before him and he held me up to keep me from swaying.
“That I love you or that I have to leave?”
“Er … the second thing, but maybe the first thing too now that you mention it.”
He laughed softly against my ear. “You know what? Let’s not talk anymore. In a couple of hours, you’re going to have to wake up and get ready for the ball, Cinderella. And I’m going to have to do my job too. Right now, let’s just pretend we are the only two people in the world in this tucked-away cabin and do what normal people who feel like we do should be doing.”
I brought myself up so we were nose to nose. “Okay. But Huck … you have to know there’s nothing going on between me and …”
“Jillian,” he said through gritted teeth. “Shut up and kiss me.”
And so I did. He lifted me off the ground and carried me across the room as if I weighed nothing. He took my breath away, kicking the door to the master bedroom open. He lay me on the bed and stood back, towering over me as he worked the buttons of his dress shirt and shed his suit and tie.
I slipped out of my blouse and dragged my skirt down. I lay naked before him as Huck admired the view. The moonlight stabbed through the window and bathed him in a shimmering blue glow. My eyes traveled over the chiseled lines of his pecs, his washboard abs, and the dusting of fine hair that led a trail to the hard erection.
“I love you,” he whispered for a fourth time. Then he was on me. We’d coupled so many times over the last few weeks, but each time we discovered something new. I reached up and cupped his balls. They were heavy with his need and he threw his head back and groaned. I sucked him, drawing my lips and tongue along the length of him. My fingers gripped the curve of his rock solid ass as he swayed on his feet. I pulled myself off him with a pop. His wicked smile sent waves of heat through me.
I patted the bed next to me and Huck lay beside me. “Fuck me,” he whispered. Leaning forward to kiss him, I straddled him and settled myself slowly down on him.
“God,” he said. “You’re beautiful. Do you know how amazing you were tonight? I can’t help it if it drove me crazy. Every man in that room wanted you. Every woman wanted to be you.”