Senator Read online

  Last year’s election had caused a huge rift in the party with people taking sides. The old school tended to follow Decker, but the progressive Republicans and the younger members of the party fell behind me. In the end, I’d garnered enough votes to gain the party’s nomination and then I’d defeated my Democratic opponent by a landslide.

  “Grey, let me make this clear. The election is over. I won. Get over it.”

  “How dare you. When I’m done with you, you won’t have a pot to piss in.”

  “Grey.” Kevin’s voice took on a tone I rarely heard, one that vibrated with authority. The one I’m sure scared the shit out of his subordinates when he was in the Air Force. “It’s time you moved on. You are crossing a line that will not bode well for you.”

  “Now you’re threatening me?”

  “No, it isn’t a threat, it’s a promise. Your money can’t cover up your or your son’s improprieties. After last year, I’d assumed you would have learned your lesson. I guess I was wrong.”

  “You’re a traitor to conservative values, Stanton.”

  “Hello, everyone.” Veer George confidently approached us in the way he always maneuvered through a room. He stepped in between Decker and me, making Decker move out of his way, something the former senator couldn’t mistake for anything but a slight. “I thought I’d come over to see how you’ve enjoyed the party.”

  Veer Kiran George, the first Independent governor of Texas in the modern era, was a sight for sore eyes. Women always took a double-take when he entered the room. He wasn’t handsome in the traditional sense, but in a bad-boy way that made one think of all the trouble he could get you into.

  Tonight, he’d dressed in a tailored suit, custom made to accommodate his towering height and the chiseled form underneath. The jet-black hair he usually wore in a messy style was slicked back in the image of a Bollywood movie star. The stubble on his jaw that I knew he hadn’t shaved on purpose, combined with the scar running along the right side of his face, gave him an almost rakish, piratical look. He oozed sex appeal, making me have visions of fanning my lady parts.

  “Hello, Jaci.” Veer kissed my cheek, lingering for a second longer than was appropriate.

  My stomach jumped as I inhaled the rich spice of his cologne.

  As he pulled back, he greeted Kevin, all but ignoring Decker.

  Decker had questioned Veer’s military record a few years ago, and Veer had never gotten over it. If there was something Veer George took pride in, it was his service in the Air Force.

  “How is everyone? Are you enjoying the evening?” Veer searched my eyes, motioning with his chin toward Decker and asking if I was okay.

  I gave a slight inclination of my head. I would never let Decker see how much I wished he’d fall off the nearest cliff.

  Very few people knew everything I’d endured to become the darling of the conservative movement. Veer happened to be one of them.

  Politics was brutal, but if you were a female, it was twice as hard. Those in positions of power would use their pull to shame and intimidate to keep their opponents in check.

  “This evening has been lovely. I’m so glad you were able to convince Sam and Devin to come down,” I said, glancing behind him to my family. “Are we still on for the cookout?”

  He flashed me a wicked grin, sending a shiver down my spine. This man was too good looking to be a politician. When he stared at me the way he was right now, all I could think of was what he’d look like naked with only his bowtie fastened to his neck.

  Besides his sexy-as-sin body and face, he was the son of a technology and real estate mogul. Veer had decided to serve the country his father had immigrated to before Veer’s birth instead of taking over a billion-dollar company.

  He believed in paying things forward, and enlisting in the Air Force was his way of showing his appreciation for a country that had afforded his family such great success.

  “Only if Kevin promises not to do anything behind the grill.”

  “I only burned the burgers one time. It wasn’t as if I planned for the insurgents to attempt an attack on the base.”

  Before the lighthearted conversation could go any further, Grey decided it was the opportune time to interject his presence again and said to Kevin and me, loudly enough for everyone around us to hear, “Isn’t it inappropriate for the two of you to fraternize with those who don’t hold our moral standards? The voters are going to see you for the liars you are.”

  I groaned and saw a twitch pulse on the sides of both Veer’s and Kevin’s jaws.

  “Grey, I think you need to lay off the alcohol. You are a guest in my home and attacking Jacinta and Kevin, two of my closest friends, will only make you look the fool.” Veer’s gaze bored into Decker’s. “Remember when you said all’s fair in politics? You’re the one who hired someone to destroy the reputation of Samina Kumar-Camden, a person I consider family. Jacinta only used the information to expose you for a fraud and not the morally high standard man you pretend to portray.”

  He motioned to someone who then approached Decker and escorted him away from us.

  “If you’ll excuse me.” Veer took my hand in his, kissing my knuckles. “I’ll see you later, much later. Enjoy your evening.” He nodded to Kevin, who inclined his head, then walked into the crowd of guests.

  “He wants in your pants, like yesterday,” Kevin said. “And from the look on your face, I’d say the feeling’s mutual.”

  “It’s complicated.” I sighed. “If only it didn’t have such a big price.”

  “The best things never come easy, Jaci.”

  Chapter Two

  Around three in the morning, after strategizing with Kevin at his hotel room for what felt like days, he dropped me off at home. We were both exhausted and desperate for some sleep before all of our friends invaded my house for a weekend house party. Finances, budgets, and planning were all part of the road Kevin and I had joined together to follow. I just sometimes wished I could take a break from it all.

  I dragged myself up the steps of the hundred-and-twenty-year-old Victorian mansion my mother had given me when I’d decided to move to Texas after law school.

  My mother was the eldest daughter of a Texas oil billionaire, who had inherited the large Austin estate and a sizeable trust fund following my grandfather’s death. No matter how much she loved the beautiful historic home, she rarely used it. Dad’s schedule kept both my parents too busy to get away for more than a few days, and the travel from New Orleans, where my parents’ home was, to Austin was too long to endure and keep up the pace of their lives.

  Lucky for me, I loved living in Texas, especially Austin, and therefore out of all my siblings, I was the person to get the house.

  I nodded to my security team, giving the signal I was in for the night, then settled inside the house and closed the door behind me. I set my keys and purse on the giant quartz island in the middle of my kitchen, leaning against it for a moment to enjoy the silence. Politics meant I was always on; quiet moments were rare.

  Turning, I kicked off my shoes in the middle of the hallway and began stripping out of my dress and pulling off my false lashes. My mother would probably have a thing or two to say about throwing my clothes around, but I was too dead tired to give a shit about proper dispensing of dirty laundry.

  God, I hated events like tonight’s where the people I wanted to spend my time with were at a distance, and the ones I had to associate with were royal pains in the ass and full of themselves. Kevin was the exception. Without him, I wasn’t sure I’d have survived.

  I couldn’t lie and say what I’d suggested to him about marriage was something I wasn’t serious about. He was a catch and everything I’d want in a man. Except the fact we both pined for men we couldn’t keep. No matter how far the party had come, an openly gay man had a limited future. To those who held old-school views, it wouldn’t matter that Kevin was a decorated war hero or that he’d spent years serving in the Air Force. All that would matter was that
he was gay.

  He deserved so much better. But I couldn’t force him to do anything he wasn’t ready to do.

  If we continued on the path we were on, we’d have no choice but to announce our engagement in the next year.

  I knew thinking this was selfish to the greatest degree, but if authentic love wasn’t in the cards for us, at least I’d have my dear friend by my side in the political chess match I’d decided to play as an eight-year-old.

  Turing on the shower, I waited until the water was at my desired temperature and stepped inside, letting the scalding spray seep into my skin.

  Was it possible to have the dream and the man I wanted?

  Nope. The White House comes at a price. Marriage to one of your closest friends but a lonely bed and watching the man you love live a life with someone else.

  I shook the cryptic thought from my head. I knew what I had to do. Now it was time to do it.

  My only problem was I couldn’t be positive I’d be able to go through with it when the time came.

  I cupped the back of my neck and closed my eyes, picturing beautiful hazel ones gazing at me.

  Veer.

  I should have known he would be my doom from the weekend so long ago when Samina had brought her brother, Ashur, and his best friend, Veer, to visit my family in New Orleans. Both men had barely returned home from their first tour in Afghanistan and were going to meet up with Kevin, an Air Force buddy, and Devin, who’d attended Harvard with them.

  Veer had had this quiet, brooding sense about him that told me he’d seen more than he’d ever admit. Over the course of those days, I’d gotten my first experience of Veer’s underlying appeal and my initial ideas of how he’d make the kind of politician people could stand behind.

  It wasn’t until almost ten years later that he’d succumbed to my nagging and entered the race.

  Now, he was everything I’d envisioned him becoming as the new governor of Texas. He’d endeared himself to a population who in other times would never have voted for him. In the year he’d held office, he’d kept every promise he’d made. Rumors were swirling that he was the next viable candidate to challenge the sitting president.

  Reaching over to a recessed shelf, I grabbed a bottle, poured some soap onto my loofah, and washed my body.

  God, please don’t make it happen so soon.

  I wasn’t sure how I’d handle having him as my opponent. And I knew with little doubt that he’d win and unseat our current president. Then I’d have to be the challenger to the very man I’d pushed into politics.

  As the last of the suds cascaded down my body, I leaned my forehead against the warmed tile of the shower.

  I couldn’t jump ahead of myself—nothing was a given. I’d learned that numerous times since I’d entered the world of politics.

  The door opened behind me, causing my breath to hitch and my skin to prickle with awareness. There was only one person who could get past my security. The man who’d hired them.

  “What are you doing here? Aren’t you worried someone might have seen you leave the mansion for my house?.”

  “No.” Strong golden arms caged me against the wall, and crisp hair grazed my back. “Keep your hands right there and spread your legs.”

  I instinctively listened, resulting in a hum of approval along my neck and the feel of firm thighs pressing against my separated ones.

  “I missed you,” I gasped out.

  He snorted and then said against my ear, “I want you to know if that prick ever tries to touch what’s mine, I will break every one of his fingers.”

  His possessive tone sent a wave of arousal throughout my body. I wasn’t the type of woman who was ever comfortable with dominant men, but for some reason, with this one, I just about purred whenever his caveman side appeared.

  “Did you forget that you’re the one who wanted me to date Kevin?”

  Kevin’s secret was something I’d never disclose to anyone, even my lover.

  “That was before us, and I wasn’t talking about him, and you know it,” he bit out, making me cringe inside.

  “Don’t go there. The last thing I want to do is think about Decker. He’s not worth it. Besides, you had him escorted out.”

  He grunted. “I’d rather have put my fist through his face, but I knew you wouldn’t want that kind of attention, so I restrained myself.”

  “I didn’t know I had that kind of power over you, Governor George,” I whispered.

  He cupped my breast and pinched the tip, causing a low guttural moan to escape my lips.

  “Veer.”

  He ignored my gasp of need and continued with our conversation. “I did run for the highest office in the state because of you.”

  I pushed back, but he barely budged. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. I may have put the idea in your head, but nothing and no one makes Governor George do anything he doesn’t want to.”

  He moved to my other nipple, gripping the nub in an almost painful squeeze that made my clit throb.

  “Harder.”

  “Then explain to me why I’ve accepted the fact one of my closest friends is standing by your side and not me. You should have been with me years ago when we began, but you refused. You’re mine, and I can’t tell a single soul about it. Do you think I don’t know that you’re planning a future without me?”

  My lips trembled. His words were a truth we avoided at all costs.

  “It isn’t that simple. We both have careers on the line.”

  “Do you think I give a fuck about my career?”

  I let the feel of his hands on my chest and the heat of his skin on my back engulf my senses and pushed back the uneasiness that filled me whenever I thought about life without him.

  “I give a fuck. We’ve sacrificed so much.”

  Veer cupped my jaw. “That’s always been your problem. Everything comes second to your ambition. Especially me.”

  I couldn’t deny his accusation. I had goals that would shatter if it came out that Veer and I were together. I’d never get the ultra-conservative vote if anyone knew I was in love with the Independent governor who leaned toward the liberal side.

  “Veer, please,” I pled. “I don’t want to have this argument right now.”

  “Then what do you want to do?” His hand freed my face and moved down my body, across my stomach, and to my swollen folds.

  My head fell back onto his shoulders. “I’m dying. It’s been over a month since we’ve been together.”

  “Spell it out for me.” He bit my earlobe as his fingers pushed through my cleft.

  A large bulge pressed to my lower spine, making me have visions of dropping to my knees and engulfing him in my mouth.

  “I can’t hear you. I want you to be crystal clear,” he said, plunging two fingers deep inside my sopping pussy.

  I cried out, “You. I want you to fuck me.”

  “That’s the plan.” He pumped his digits as he strummed my aching nub with his thumb. “But I need you to come first.”

  Yes. There was nothing like his touch. He held a part of me no other man ever would.

  I reached behind me to grab Veer’s hair, but a low growl stopped me.

  “Keep your hands where I ordered you to. I’m not kissing you until I’m ready.”

  “Veer,” I whimpered but followed his command and returned my palms to the tile.

  He knew how much I enjoyed his kisses. They were all-consuming and arousing to the point I could come from the glide of his tongue against mine.

  He was hurting because we knew what was going to happen sooner rather than later.

  I dropped my head forward, letting a tear fall and melt into the water streaming down my cheeks.

  “No, baby.” He tilted my face to him and said, “No thinking about anything but what’s happening right now. Enjoy the pleasure only I can give you.” And then, he sealed our lips.

  We ate each other’s mouths, tasting, sucking, savoring, as he played my aching sex with his masterful finge
rs.

  My pussy quivered and flooded with arousal, and my already aching nipples budded to even harder points.

  “Oh God. Veer. I can’t hold on any longer.”

  “I know, love. I’ve got you.” His arm came around my waist to hold me to him.

  I rode his pistoning hand, and my swollen cleft clenched around him with each push and pull.

  “Come now.”

  My body responded with spasms that made my mind cloud and ecstasy fill every cell in my being. Before I could come down from my bliss, he pulled out of me and replaced his finger with the head of his engorged cock.

  “Yes,” I moaned, pushing down until he was to the hilt. The girth of his erection left a pleasurable sting I craved whenever we were apart for any length of time.

  He stilled his movement, letting me become accustomed to him.

  “Let me know when you’re ready.” His voice was hoarse, laced with his own desire.

  “I’m ready. Fuck me already.”

  “So demanding.” He laughed into my hair, pulling out until he was at the crest of his long, thick cock, and then plunged balls-deep. “I guess you’re okay with me having my wicked way with you.”

  I lifted up onto my tiptoes and tried to take over the pace, but I was too short.

  “If you don’t fuck me, I’m getting out of this shower and leaving you with a case of blue balls.”

  He shifted and rolled his hips in the way that drove me crazy.

  “You were saying?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing. Please don’t stop.”

  “I wasn’t planning on it. Now hold on and enjoy the ride.” He pulled out and slammed back in.

  We both cried out at the exquisite sensation. Veer fucked me hard, not wavering on his pace. His hand cupped my throat as the other molded my waist to him. I held on to his neck and pushed against the wall, unable to gain any leverage. I took what he had to give me.

  There was nothing but the two of us here, no dueling careers or political aspirations or media. We were raw, and all we wanted was to sate the need we’d built over the past few weeks apart.