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  Kevin snorted. “You two would have ended up jumping each other sooner or later. Sam and I had a bet when it would happen. We’d only hoped it wouldn’t be while you were with other people.”

  “I am with someone else—you,” I pointed out.

  “We aren’t the same thing, and you know it.”

  “I know.” A wave of sadness flooded down on me. “Kev, what are we going to do?”

  “I don’t have much choice in the matter. I was willing to come out, but I couldn’t be the only one risking everything. You, on the other hand, will lose the nomination but gain the man you love.”

  “How do I give up everything I’ve worked for since I was a child? It’s within my grasp. I have to wait four more years, and I know I’ll become the first female to win the White House.”

  “He’s more than worth risking it. I’ve gone to combat with him. I’ve never known a man who does the right thing even when it costs him like Veer George. He’s perfect for you. Well, with the exception of his liberal-leaning tendencies.”

  “There is that one negative.” I couldn’t help but laugh. However, the amusement died quickly. “I feel like no matter what I do I’m fucked.”

  “True, true. But there is only one choice where you’ll get fucked on the regular and like it.”

  I shook my head. “You are so wrong.”

  “Hey just telling you how I see it.”

  “Come on, before they send out a search party.” I stood and brushed my summer dress down.

  Kevin rose and turned toward the cooler. “It would be for the alcohol, not us.”

  At that moment, Tyler’s shout came from the area along the river. “Jaci, you promised to keep the drinks flowing. You’re failing miserably.”

  Kevin picked up the cooler. “It’s a wonder you didn’t strangle him in vitro. I have no idea how he keeps the world from seeing this goofball instead of the staunch Southern member of the United States House of Representatives.”

  “We all have our facades.” I saw Veer come toward us. “Why don’t you head down? I want to talk to V.” I said that loudly enough for Veer to hear me.

  Kevin nodded to Veer as he passed him and murmured, “Glad it’s you in trouble and not me.”

  As Veer approached, my heartbeat accelerated, and a flood of desire pooled between my legs. He’d changed into casual khaki shorts and a light blue cotton button-down that accentuated the muscular build of his arms. Lust filled his gaze, and the thought of taking him back to the house and having my wicked way with him had my body heating.

  “Stop staring at me like that or I’m taking you inside to make good on the dirty thoughts running through your mind.”

  “I don’t see a problem with your idea.” I set my fingers on his shoulder and stood on tiptoes.

  “Are you sure you want to miss the s’mores?” He gave me a sly grin. “Tyler has a bag of giant marshmallows and three bars of Ghirardelli dark chocolate waiting for you.”

  My weakness was the ooey gooey goodness of melted chocolate and marshmallows sandwiched between graham crackers. I could eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Thankfully, I had a willpower of iron otherwise I wouldn’t be able to fit through a door.

  “That’s mean. How can I choose?”

  He slipped his hands around my waist and pulled me against him. He grazed his stubble against my jaw.

  “It’s easy. What do you want more, sex or chocolate?”

  “Can I have both?” I asked, a bit too breathless.

  Before he could respond, I heard Samina shout, “Get a room. There are innocent eyes here.”

  Both Veer and I laughed and then I said, “She’s one to talk with the number of times I’ve caught Dev and her in the middle of something. At least we aren’t groping each other.”

  It felt so good not to hide what Veer and I had. On this estate, we were safe. I wasn’t the Republican senator, and Veer wasn’t the governor. We were a couple. Well, at least for this weekend.

  I stepped out of his hold and offered him my hand. “Come with me.”

  He slid his palm over mine, and we walked toward the pool house. No one would disturb us there.

  “Want to tell me why I’m in trouble? It can’t be our activities of the morning. If I recall, you came three times.”

  I licked my lips, and a quiver shot into my core.

  “No, it’s not about your sexual prowess.”

  “Then what?” He opened the gate leading to the walkway.

  “Why did you invite Ashur when I specifically told you that Tara was coming down? This weekend was supposed be stress free for Tara. She’s tense and no way near relaxed. After the way President Edgar turned her efforts into something to investigate, she needs a break.”

  “Jaci, there are things in play that make it necessary for Tara and Ashur to get over their issues. Their future rides on it.”

  I gave Veer the side eye. “Care to explain that statement?”

  “Nope. It’s between them. Come on.” Veer wrapped his arm around the back of my waist and opened the front door leading to a small living room.

  I stopped walking, slipping out of his hold. “If it is between them, then why are you involved?”

  “Jaci, let it go.” He stared with his “I am boss, you are little woman” glare.

  I cocked a hand on my hip. “Would you let it go if I were keeping something from you?”

  “Aren’t you?” He folded his arms, continuing to hold my annoyed gaze.

  “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “Aren’t you just waiting for the right time to announce your engagement to Kevin?”

  “Nothing is set. You should know as well as I do that the press likes to sensationalize things.”

  “He is your significant other, for all purposes.” The bitterness in his voice made my heart ache.

  “No, he is not,” I countered. “We’re friends. Nothing more. You’re the man I want.”

  “Does he know this? I know when a man is in love with you. I see it every time I look in the mirror. So, cut the bullshit.”

  “For the love of God, Veer. I’m a sister to him. Our relationship is about politics and inheritances, not romance.”

  “Maybe you see it that way, but he may not.”

  “You are the one who suggested Kevin and I pretend to be a couple. So, if anyone is to blame for this predicament, it’s you. And just for the record, he’s in a relationship with someone else.”

  “Who?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Fine. Keep your secrets, and I’ll keep mine.” He moved past me to a bar cart stationed next to the kitchen island.

  He poured himself a finger of cognac and shot it back. “Do you love him?”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Just answer the question.”

  I shook my head at him like he was an idiot. “Of course I do.”

  “I see.” A look of devastation passed across Veer’s face.

  With a sigh, I approached him, taking the glass and setting it on the cart. I cupped his face in my hand and rested my forehead against his.

  “No, you don’t. I love Kevin the way I love Devin, Tyler, and Ashur. Like a brother.”

  He pulled back, blowing out a breath of relief. The hurt in his eyes softened but still lingered.

  “Jaci. This is tearing us apart. I want to strangle Kevin for having the part of you that I’ll never get.”

  Guilt sat heavy in my stomach. I was doing this. Veer was the most confident man I’d ever known, and now I was making him doubt how I felt about him. I knew I should do the unselfish thing and tell him we should end this right now. But I couldn’t do it. Breaking up would mean I’d lose my happily ever after. Who was I kidding? I never had it.

  “I’m sorry. I…” He placed a finger to my lips, cutting off my words.

  “I know.” He kissed my forehead. “I know.”

  He lifted me, bunching my dress up and wrapping my legs around his waist, and seal
ed our mouths together. Desire ignited throughout my body, heating me from the inside out. We devoured each other, our tongues dueling and playing.

  Veer nipped my lower lip as he set me on the island.

  “Veer.” I gazed into his eyes.

  “Yes.” He pushed me back onto the granite and cupped my breasts in his hands, pinching and rolling the puckered tips.

  My core contracted, and a gush of wetness soaked my cleft. I arched into Veer’s delicious touch, and my legs tightened around his waist.

  “I want sex.”

  He laughed. “Isn’t that what we are doing?”

  “No.” I lifted my head to look him in the eyes. “I mean I want you to fuck me. Hard, dirty. No foreplay.”

  He paused his kneading of my swollen mounds. “Why?”

  “Because I want to feel the delicious sting with each step I take tonight. I want my pussy sore, knowing you’d fucked me so hard with your thick cock that I ached.”

  A devilish light entered his eyes, completely replacing the sadness from a moment earlier.

  I loved when he was gentle, the lover who put my needs always before his. But there was something about it when it was raw and rough.

  “You want to be fucked, Jaci.” He shifted and moved his hand to the front of his pants, unbuttoning and then lowering his zipper. “I’ll fuck you.”

  His cock sprang free of its confines and bobbed between us. A drop of pre-cum dripped from the tip, making me lick my lips. I wanted a taste of his delicious essence. I’d craved it last night, and I craved it now.

  “Eyes up here. You wanted me to fuck you, and that’s what we’re going to do. You can suck my cock at another time.”

  He reached under my dress and ripped my underwear and in the next second, he thrust balls-deep.

  I cried out from the pleasure-pain of his girth pushing through my swollen, slick cleft. I arched up and gripped Veer’s forearms.

  “Yes,” I cried out. “Hard. Please give it to me hard.”

  He pounded my throbbing pussy, setting a pace that only allowed me to hold on. The teeth of his zipper pressed into my butt cheeks with each stroke. I couldn’t help but enjoy the harsh feel of the metal against my tender skin.

  I wanted him to imprint himself into me, to make everything disappear but us.

  He gripped my hip as the finger of his other hand came around my throat in a firm but gentle hold. He gave a slight squeeze, and my core spasmed around his pummeling cock. He repeated the action, and my mind clouded. This man owned me in a way no one else ever would. My need grew to a point I couldn’t hold out any longer. My core trembled, clutching desperately around his thick cock.

  “Veeeer,” I stuttered. “I need…”

  “Come now,” he ordered.

  My body responded, contracting and pulsing, shaking violently. Veer released a guttural groan as his cock began to swell. He was tight and full, on the verge of his own orgasm. His neck arched and his jaw clenched. He threw his head back and came with a loud cry.

  Veer dropped his head to my chest, both of us breathing in short pants. I kept my legs wrapped around his waist and sighed.

  The door to the house opened, making us stiffen.

  “Jaci, where the fuck are you? Sam told me to…” Devin walked in with Ashur and came to an abrupt stop. “Oh, for the love of God. Man, that’s my baby sister.” Devin covered his eyes.

  “Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it?” Ashur said.

  Chapter Seven

  An hour after Devin and Ashur caught Veer and me at the tail end of our mutual climaxes, I leaned against the back wall of the estate’s giant family room.

  Devin scowled as he glanced my way, and I smirked in response, lifting my cocktail glass in his direction.

  “What are you smiling at?” Veer asked me as he came to stand next to me.

  “My brother and the horror he keeps reliving every time he looks at either of us.”

  “As Ashur said, payback’s a bitch. I’ve lost count of the number of times one of us has disturbed or walked in on his sexual antics with Samina. After over ten years of their shit, Devin deserved what he got.”

  I shook my head and offered Veer a taste of my drink. “True, but it’s still weird to have my big brother find me orgasming while one of his closest friends was fucking my brains out.”

  “He’ll get over it.” Veer set a hand on my waist and took a sip of the drink, wincing at the potent taste of the concoction Tyler had created for me. “Damn, that’s strong. It’s almost as bad as your drinks. Except Tyler’s have something other than alcohol in them.”

  “Very funny, smartass.” I smiled up at him.

  Veer’s phone beeped, causing him to pull it out of his pocket. When he scanned the incoming message, he frowned and released a groan.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing really, just Abigail reminding me I have to review the changes to the state budget I’m going to propose on Monday.”

  I smirked. “You know the state Senate and House are going to hand you your ass for the comments you made about our president’s budget?”

  “I’ve already accounted for the possibility.”

  “Of course you have.” I rubbed the frown line forming between his brows. “If you want, I can review it and give you a Republican perspective?”

  He studied me for a few seconds and then gestured to the people in the room. “Wouldn’t that take you away from the festivities here?”

  “Tyler can take over.” I glanced at my twin, who was going into a lively description of a situation he’d gotten into with a fellow House member. “Besides, how many times have you helped me figure out all the holes in my plans? Let me return the favor.”

  Veer kissed the top of my head, stepped back, and then offered me his elbow. “Thank you. Let me hear your conservative point of view, so I can figure out a way to battle your ass-backwards party members.”

  “You think you’re so funny.” I laughed and tucked my arm into his.

  A little before seven in the morning, I crept out of my room, making sure not to wake Veer. After spending a few hours reviewing Veer’s budget and debating all the obstacles he would face, we’d spent most of the night making love. I should have been exhausted, but I couldn’t sleep.

  Today would be a day of relaxation. The guys planned to go out to Lake Travis for some fishing and we ladies would go for a visit to a fashion designer friend of mine who had a private showroom and then return to the house for more poolside vegging. We would all meet back for dinner, where Tyler would wow us with his grill master skills. My twin was a killer chef when it came to an open flame, and I said more power to him.

  Right as I approached the back steps leading to the kitchen, I ran into the very brother I was thinking about. He was covered in sweat and wearing a soaked T-shirt and shorts.

  “Good morning. Why are you up so early?”

  Tyler ran a hand through his damp blond hair. “Ashur and I went for a run on the property. We’re both training for the Boston Marathon.”

  “Shit. I forgot you qualified.” I winced. “Can you forgive me for not congratulating you?”

  Last month, Tyler had run the Houston Marathon with Ashur. They were running fanatics and had decided they wanted to qualify for the mother of all races, the Boston Marathon.

  “Sure, if you give me a hug this minute.” He lifted his wet arm. “Fair is fair.”

  I ducked under him. “You keep that stinky boy smell away from me. Plus, the race isn’t until next year. Why are you training now?”

  He gave me an annoyed glare. “I have to run every fucking day if I don’t want to die when the race actually happens.”

  “Sorry. I’m not the runner, I don’t know how this works. I’m a Pilates and yoga girl.”

  “Weak,” he said as he moved toward his bedroom.

  “Excuse me? Stop right there,” I ordered. “Want to repeat that? Who’s the one who complained that he pulled a groin muscle the last time he challenged
me to a session of Tabata on the reformer?”

  He ran a hand across his sweaty face. “Don’t remind me. I could barely sit for a week.”

  “I rest my case.”

  “Whatever, go play good host and make me breakfast. I am a guest, after all.”

  I snorted and took the steps down to the kitchen.

  Guest, my ass. He was part owner of this estate. I wasn’t my fault he lived in Louisiana most of the time.

  As I stepped onto the lower landing, I came to an abrupt stop. A loud, heated conversation was ensuing between Ashur and Tara. I peeked around the corner to see Tara’s hands braced on the granite of the island and Ashur standing with his arms folded across his chest in the posture I’d dubbed “the wall.” He was on a mission to get answers, and he wasn’t going to let Tara go until he got them.

  I’d hoped they’d continue ignoring each other so the weekend wouldn’t have any more tension, but I guessed it was too much to ask. I knew there was a lot more to what had broken Ashur and Tara up than Sam and Ashur’s father orchestrating the demise of the relationship. Whatever it was, neither one of them had gotten over it.

  “What do you want from me?”

  “I want the truth.”

  “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you the truth.”

  “Try me.”

  “Ashu, please. Leave me alone.”

  “Don’t call me that. You don’t ever get to call me that again. The nickname is for my lover, and you’re not her. The fact that I popped your cherry means nothing.”

  Tara flinched, and her shoulders sagged as her grip on the counter intensified.

  “Why would you get Veer to contact me if you can’t stand the sight of me?” Tara asked as she focused on something outside the windows.

  Ashur leaned his hip against the counter behind Tara, staring at the back of her head. “Because you owe me.”

  “I owe you shit.” Tara’s voice quivered.

  Ashur clenched his fists. “What about the rich lover whose family pulled strings to get you into Harvard?”