by Mari Carr
Tom had called to say he had checked in and was on his way over. Apparently, he’d reserved the other penthouse suite on the floor. She couldn’t believe he’d basically booked the entire floor of a five star hotel.
She checked her face in the mirror once more when she heard a knock on the door. She took a deep breath and crossed the room. Flinging the door open with her heart racing, she watched Evan Thomas Rhodes, President-elect, enter her room.
“Noelle?” he asked, his voice betraying his discomfort. She could only imagine what emotions he saw flying across her face. Anger, excitement, disappointment, amazement, fear, relief, happiness.
“Shit,” she whispered when she finally found her voice. “You’re a Republican.”
He grinned and took a step toward her. Before she could retreat or consider what he was doing, he placed his hands gently on both sides of her face. “And you’re beautiful.”
She didn’t have time to utter a protest. Hell, she didn’t have time to open her mouth before his lips descended on hers. She returned the kiss without a moment’s hesitation. This is what she’d hoped for, prayed for, waited for. The fact he had just won the election and would be President of the United States in twenty-seven days ceased to matter the second his lips touched hers.
She reached up to run her fingers through his light brown hair, losing herself in the joy of finally meeting her best friend. For several moments, they remained connected, touching each other, sharing the same air until reality crashed in on her and she pulled away.
“What the hell is going on?”
He gave her a crooked grin, guilt suffusing his features. “I was afraid it wouldn’t be quite this easy. I don’t suppose we could just carry on with the kissing?”
“You’re the President,” she said before inanely adding, “of the freaking United States.”
“Not yet,” he replied and she raised her eyebrows at the preposterousness of his comment.
“Tom,” she started before catching herself. “I mean Evan—”
“No,” he interrupted. “It’s Tom. Always Tom to you. Noelle, if you’ll just give me a minute to explain—”
“I think it’ll take more than a minute, Running Man,” she interjected.
“I suppose it will.” He shrugged and responded to her comment regarding his screen name. “Dammit, I feel like I’ve been running forever.”
“And here I thought you picked that name because you were an Arnold fan, not because you were running for office.”
He laughed. “Well…”
She groaned. “Oh, hell, Arnold’s a Republican too.”
“Noelle,” he said, “before we get into any of this hard stuff, I want to ask you a question.”
“Okay.”
“Why did you come here this weekend?”
She was taken aback for a moment, and then she considered her answer. “I wanted to meet you, be with you.”
He moved closer, pulling her toward him with firm hands on her hips. “Be with me how?”
Her gaze drifted to his lips and she knew the answer he was searching for. She raised her hands to his handsome face and smiled. “If you’re asking me if I was considering having sex with you, I was.”
He chuckled before leaning down to kiss her again. She suspected he’d meant to offer her a light, friendly buss, but once their lips met, the intent changed as their hunger, their instant attraction sparked once more. For several moments, they gave themselves over to the sheer joy of kissing, touching, holding each other.
She pulled away after a moment to catch her breath. “God, Tom. I didn’t realize— I didn’t know it would be—”
“So potent?” he asked.
“We just met.”
“We’ve know each other for a year. I know you better than the people I see everyday at work.”
“This is crazy. You’re the president.”
“No one knows I’m here and I’ve moved heaven and earth to protect your anonymity. Trust me. I was hoping we could pretend we’re two normal people celebrating the holiday together. Noelle, I promise you, this doesn’t have to be anything more than a stolen weekend—a chance for us to meet face to face. We can worry about the rest of it later.”
“The rest is sort of big,” she mumbled and he laughed.
“The rest is gigantic, but I honestly don’t think I can wait another minute to get you naked and into bed.”
Noelle reached up to run her fingers through his hair. “Naked sounds good.”
Tom pulled her sweater over her head. “Yes, but it looks even better. Where’s the bedroom?”
She gripped his silk tie in her hands and pulled him toward the bedroom, marveling at her ease with him. Her body had shifted into overdrive the moment she saw him and nothing short of a hard bout of sex would relieve it. She led him to the bed, before turning and loosening the knot. She pulled it off and started to drop it, but Tom grasped her wrist to stop her.
“Put it on the bed,” he whispered. “I may want to tie you up with it later.” A soft moan crossed her lips at the thought and he smiled seductively. “You’re so beautiful.”
He bent toward her, taking her lips in a possessive kiss, both of them succumbing to the incredible lust, the desperate need to claim one another. She fought with the buttons on his shirt and considered ripping the damn thing off. He unzipped her skirt, hastily shoving it and her panties over her hips. She kicked them off along with her shoes as they both reached for the fastening on his dress slacks. As they continued to undress each other, their lips devoured every bit of bare flesh they could find. Tom’s lips explored the contours of her neck while she nipped at his shoulder.
“Need you. Want you,” she muttered when his hands unsnapped her bra, pulling the lacy material away. He dropped it, and then gripped her breasts firmly, kneading the aching flesh. She cried out when his lips lowered, taking her tight nipple into his mouth and sucking hard. Over and over, he teased the sensitive flesh until she thought she’d go mad with want.
She pushed back after a few moments and glanced down. The president wore boxers. She gripped the elastic band as she worked the material over his erection and down his muscular thighs. She moved lower as well and it was his turn to groan when she knelt before him.
“God, Noelle,” he whispered and she grinned as his body trembled with her first small lick. He laced his fingers in her long brown hair—the seductive touch setting her body aflame. She opened her mouth and sucked in the head of his cock. As she reached for his balls, playing with them, she worked her lips around his erection. Tom began to thrust, his movements shallow at first before going deeper. She massaged his balls harder and he tightened his grip on her hair. She felt ravenous, wild, each touch, each sound from his lips making her want him even more.
“Stop,” he said, but she refused, shaking her head even as she continued to suck him.
“Dammit, Noelle.” He reached down and pulled her away. “Not this way. Not the first time,” he said. “Get on the bed. Open your legs.”
She crawled on the bed and lay on her back as he bent down to retrieve a condom from the pocket of his pants. Grasping her breasts, she played with her nipples as his eyes darkened with need.
“Jesus, you’re sexy.” Once he’d donned the condom, he climbed onto the bed, pushing her legs apart as he moved. She sucked in a deep breath when he stopped—his face just a breath away from her pussy. “So wet,” he murmured, as he ran a single finger along her opening.
“God,” she said with a harsh breath. “Please.”
He toyed with her clit for a moment before pushing the finger inside her. “So wet and tight.”
She closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling of being touched so intimately. It had been nearly two years.
Tom added another finger to the first as she pushed her hips toward the glorious pressure. He rubbed her clit with his thumb and she felt the lovely twinges that announced the beginning of her orgasm.
“Inside me,” she whispered, but he shook his head.
“I want to watch you come. It’s been a long time for both of us. I have a feeling this first time won’t last long.”
He accompanied his words with a rueful grin and she giggled. “We have all weekend.”
He rewarded her comment with a third finger and her body gave way to the climax. She cried out with the intense pleasure as Tom continued to move his fingers inside her, increasing the pressure on her clit, dragging out the sensations.
She closed her eyes, perfectly aware of the goofy grin on her face, but unable to hide it. He crawled over her body, chuckling at her obvious delight.
“I take it you liked that?” he asked.
She nodded. “Mmm hmm. Sort of makes me sorry I voted for the other guy.”
He laughed. “Damn. You voted the party line, didn’t you?”
“’Fraid so.”
“Lucky for you I’m so forgiving.”
She opened her eyes and smiled. “I think it helps that you won anyway.”
“There is that.” His cock brushed against her clit and she gasped, suddenly remembering that while he’d made her a very happy woman, he’d yet to get his own reward.
“Come inside me,” she whispered.
“I thought you’d never ask.” He pushed his way into her body. She’d foolishly thought her body was too tired to be aroused again, but his slow, steady motion proved her wrong. Once he was fully seated, he bent down and kissed her. The gesture was so sweet, so loving, she felt tears spring to her eyes.
“Crying?” he asked.
“Good crying.”
He brushed the tears away with his fingertips, tracing the trail of wetness with soft kisses. Thrusting slowly, he made love to her and she marveled at the gentleness, the beauty of it.
“God, Noelle. I’m going to come,” he said after a few moments. She nodded, his words triggering a similar response in her body. She didn’t realize how close she was until he spoke the words. He reached down and touched her clit, pushing her straight into heaven.
As her climax began, his motions sped up, his movements harder, stronger and she threw her head back as the pleasure suffused her body once more.
“God. Yes,” he muttered as he came and she smiled at the image of utter peace that claimed his face.
“I take it you liked that?” she teased.
“I fucking loved that,” he replied.
“Such language, Mr. President.”
He grinned. “Do you think it would be politically incorrect for me to add that I love your tits too?”
“Definitely not PC, but thank you.”
He shook his head and his face sobered. “No. Thank you, Noelle. This past year has been hectic, crazy. Talking to you, well, it saved me.”
She pulled his face to hers, initiating a soft, long kiss. He’d done the same for her, but she’d never be able to thank him enough, never be able to express it. Then, when he deepened the kiss, she realized sometimes words just weren’t necessary.
Chapter Three
The holiday weekend passed far too quickly for Noelle. She and Tom enjoyed a private dinner in the room with Ross and Julia, who surprisingly managed to hold her tongue about all things political for the entire evening. The rest of the time they spent alone—in quiet conversation or in bed.
Noelle lay with her head on Tom’s chest, trying to push down the worry of leaving him the next day. As he’d promised, they’d spent the entire time avoiding the conversation she knew they had to have now. Before she could speak, he moved. Gently pushing her to her back, he leaned over and kissed her.
“I suggested we spend the holidays together for a couple of reasons. I wanted to meet you face to face, to explain to you why I have to—” He paused and she smiled sadly.
“Why you have to say goodbye,” she finished for him.
“In a few weeks, my emails, my phone calls become public record. I knew this would be hard, Noelle. I just didn’t know how fucking hard.”
She could see the pain in his eyes, felt it in her heart. “The president isn’t allowed to date?”
He laughed mirthlessly. “Who the hell knows? I have the distinct privilege of being the first single president. I don’t want you to think I don’t want to keep seeing you. I want it more than my next breath, but I would never do that to you. Asking you to continue seeing me would make me the most selfish bastard on earth.”
“Why?”
“You’d be plunged under a microscope. Your every move, every outfit, every word analyzed and dissected. Your history would be dredged up for public consumption. You’d be hounded by paparazzi day and night.”
“Damn, Tom. You really need to stop sugar-coating it.” She meant her words as joke, desperate to bring back the lightness that had filled his face all weekend.
He shrugged, but didn’t smile.
“What do you want?” she asked. “Pretend for a minute, nothing you said matters. What would you want if you could have anything?”
“I’d want to keep seeing you. I’d want you to go to the Inaugural Ball with me and I’d want you in my bed every night.”
“Are presidents allowed to sleep with women they aren’t married to in the White House?” she joked.
“They’ve done it before.”
They laughed together and Noelle was happy to see her funny friend reemerge. He was facing four years of a long, hard road and suddenly, her path seemed clear.
“I want to keep seeing you too.”
“Noelle, I wasn’t kidding about how hard—”
She halted his words, placing her fingers against his lips. “I only have one worry. I don’t want to do anything that would hurt your career. I mean, I haven’t lived a spotless life. I didn’t get great grades in school. My husband wasn’t my first lover. I mean if any of that came up—”
It was his turn to stop her. He kissed her and smiled. “You won’t hurt my career. You’re smart and funny and good. That’s all that matters.”
“I don’t want to rush anything just because of your job. I mean, despite our long distance friendship, we’ve really only known each other a weekend. Dating might be tricky, but—”
“I understand,” he said. “And I agree. We’ll just take it a day at a time. However, I’ll talk to the head of the Secret Service, see if you qualify for protection. I couldn’t live with myself if someone hurt you to get to me.”
She nodded, his words driving home how different her life was about to become.
“Second thoughts?” he asked.
“No. None at all. Isn’t that strange? I should be freaking out, but for the first time since this weekend started, I’m actually relaxed—body and mind. I think some part of me knew you were going to try to say goodbye and I couldn’t stand it.”
He grinned and shrugged. “I had a speech all prepared. Then I looked at you tonight and knew I’d never be strong enough to say it.”
She laughed. “You wrote a speech for me?”
“Good practice for my State of the Union address.”
“Yeah, well, we still have a big problem.”
“We do?” he asked.
“Yep, I don’t have a thing to wear to the Inaugural Ball.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. I know some people.”
“Merry Christmas, Mr. President.” She mimicked Marilyn Monroe’s breathless tone and he laughed.
“Merry Christmas, Editchick.”
* * *
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About the Author
Virginia native Mari Carr is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller of contemporary erotic romance novels. With over one million copies of her books sold, Mari was the winner of the Romance Writers of America’s Passionate Plume award for her novella, Erotic Research. She has over a hundred published works, including her popular Wild Irish and Compass books, along with the Trinity Masters series she writes with Lila Dubois.
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