Now she’s holding my head in her hands, nuzzling, all her walls down for a few precious minutes that I will always treasure.
“I love you so fucking much, Declan,” she says. “I never want to leave it unsaid.”
“I love you, too, Case.” I rub noses with her. “I promise I’m never willingly going anywhere.”
She sadly smiles. “Me, either.”
We both sigh, followed by a chuckle. This is our normal, our default now.
“Better, Ma’am?” I ask.
She draws back just enough she can look me in the eyes, and she’s wearing the most beautiful smile. “Soooo much better, boy. I’d say you have no idea, but I think you actually do.”
I nod. “I do, Ma’am.”
Her eyes go bright as she blinks back tears. “You…know, right?”
I node again. “Yes, Ma’am.” She doesn’t need to clarify.
I sense her thinking for a moment. “That’s still all privileged,” she softly says. “She didn’t want me to tell him, and I’ll honor that unless I have a damned good reason not to. Unless I ever tell him…please take that to your grave.”
“I will.”
Then her arms envelop me, squeezing tightly, desperately. “I don’t believe in fucking miracles—”
“But thisisa fucking miracle,” I finish.
“Amen.” She sniffles. “I haven’t prayed in so fucking long. I lost my faith when…” She doesn’t finish. I know that cloud in her soul is related to her secrets, to whatever happened to her as a kid, but she still hasn’t told me the details.
I’ll never push her to, either.
Instead, I chose to step back into Declan the attorney mode first, before Casey the chief of staff can return. To give her the easy out. “We’ll need to push that angle for the Evangelicals. It’s a miracle, prayers work, yadda-yadda.”
“Fuck.” She laughs. “It’s damned spooky you can read my mind like that.”
I shrug. “I was blessed enough to have the world’s best mentor.”
It’s anothermoment. Then she brushes a tender kiss across my lips. “Tonight, or whenever we finally can get horizontal and alone for a little while, it’s going to be Declan’s choice.” Her smile promises mischievous pleasure.
“I serve at your pleasure, Ma’am.”
“Technically, you’re now serving at the pleasure of the governor of Tennessee.” She grins. “Good thing I have an in with the motherfucker.”
“Can’t be much more of a slave-driver than my current boss.”
Her laughter sounds clear and bright, and after our weeks of darkness, it’s a beautiful, gorgeous sound. “You said it, boy.”
Chapter Fourteen
Now
Monday, I accompany George to a working lunch with his cabinet. Casey is tied up in a private arm-twisting session over some budget issues with a couple of state senators.
Although I find sitting is definitely interesting today, because I spent my Sunday literally tied up in one position or another, and sport bruises on top of my bruises.
That isn’t a complaint.
It makes life interesting, because every ache has my cock wanting to harden over the pain, and the memories ofwhyI’m in pain.
