“Okay. I’ll ask him, and we can pick this up in the morning. Go get ready for work.” I pat her on the ass and lean in for a kiss. She heads upstairs, leaving me trying to think about this newest development.
Fortunately, she is going to be on the Hill late tonight with a committee meeting.Tonight is alone time for me and Chris, and my day is crazy enough it helps drive out thoughts about her request until he arrives to pick me up.
I’m the last one in the office, and, honestly?
I want it done now.
“We need to talk. About Shae.”
I see him immediately shift into Sir mode. “Okay.”
“She asked me this morning to make her my slave. The way I’m yours. I told her it’s up to you.” Heslowly nods, but doesn’t reply, at first, so I add, “What do you think?”
“I think it plays nicely into the long-term plan I once told you we had.”
“What?” Yeah, now I remember him mentioning that, but…
Well, can you fucking blame me if something like that slips my mind? Uh, helllooo? Kind of have a bazillion other things on my plate, in addition to Chris, and now Shae.
Chris crosses his armsand leans against the wall. “You’ll be spending more time with her, at first, than I will. I’m taking retirement from the Secret Service before the national convention. I’ll have twenty-six years in by then, and will have turned fifty. Then I’ll officially join the campaign full-time.”
Now I’m confused. “Join the campaign aswhat? We have a head of security. And you can’t ‘campaign’ if you’reSecret Service, that’s a Hatch Act violation. If you’re retiring…” My voice trails off as it finally sinks in.
I feel like an idiot. It was there all along.
Including the blatantly obvious reason why I couldn’t tell anyone—not even Lauren—that Chris is my boyfriend. “As her fiancé,” I say.
It’s not a question.
He nods. “It was the plan Shae came up with before we approached you in Florida.We’ll probably get married before the convention. Definitely before the general election, before early voting kicks off for most states. Will that be a problem?”
I fight not to react to the sting torturing my heart. “Do I really have a choice?”
“We all have choices, Kev.” He pushes off from the wall and walks over to pull me into his arms. “Doesn’t mean you won’t be in our lives.”
A bitterlaugh escapes me. “How do you figurethat?”
He doesn’t release me. In fact, he holds me tighter. “Because you’rebothmine. She needs you as much as you need her.”
“That’s not exactly marriage material. Trust me, I know.”
He continues as if I didn’t speak. “I don’t have to give up either of you to do this. I’mdamnsure not givingyouup. It’s a better optic if she marries me. You’re her campaignmanager and will be her chief of staff, so you’ll have every reasonable excuse to be with her all the time, twenty-four/seven, including traveling. You can come and go from her office or the residence or a hotel room without anyone batting an eye. It’s yourjob.
“Me? Not so much. Not when I’m still on duty. Retiring and marrying her is the perfect solution. She gets a husband to run the EastWing, and people don’t mistakenly assume she’s gay, which will be a problem if she ever hopes to woo the hard-right. You and I are roommates, I ended up spending time with the candidate because of you, and we fell in love. It’s a full circle. It actually makes explaining things easier this way.”
I have to ask it. “Do you even love her? Or does she really love you?” I hope I haven’t been played,but my mind is reeling that this very obvious eventuality completely escaped me.
“Kingdoms used to be forged through arranged marriages, Kev.” He smiles down at me. “You can’t honestly tell me you mind having her squirming between us, can you? Have her begging for relief?”
No, I can’t. I’d be lying if I did. Fucking her and watching the hunger build in Chris’ gaze as I make her moan is sexierthan fuck.
He’s not done. “How many men get to say they get to fuck the presidentandher husband?”
The involuntary shiver that ripples through me once again has my cock hard.
He lowers his head and damn him, I automatically tip my head back to receive the kiss he looks like he’s going to slant across my lips. My hand also reaches up to cup the back of his neck.
But he pauses, teasing me,the thick length of his erection swelling through his slacks and mine and pressing against me. Mine answers, and I can’t help squirming against him.
