The Candidate, page 23
Jane laughed harder than she had in days. “I love you, Alex Warner.”
“And I love you, Jane Kincaid.”
Jane handed the phone back to Steph and marched toward the sand bunker.
It had to be an agonizing day for Jane. She was trying so hard not to show Alex her worry and anxiety, but her eyes were giving her away. They burned with intensity and darted in some kind of synchronization to her private thoughts. She visibly flinched whenever a voice called to her, as though it had physically wrenched her from her inner world. Alex’s heart clenched for her.
The rented penthouse suite at the Setai Hotel in South Beach, Miami, was a cauldron of voices and moving bodies, ringing phones and blaring television sets. It was election day, and it was surely one of the most emotionally wracking days of Jane’s life, Alex knew. And though they’d not seen each other over the last two weeks while Alex recuperated on the island and Jane campaigned, Alex tried now not to intrude. No one but Jane could know what she was going through, and Alex would not even try to guess. She could only offer a needed distraction when it looked like Jane needed one, though getting her alone had been pretty much impossible. The few hours they’d been together since meeting in Detroit this morning had been anything but intimate. Journalists, staff members and Secret Service agents had been within arm’s reach of them all day. You couldn’t turn around without bumping into someone. Even a kiss had been merely a peck on the cheek for them.
Alex had missed Jane so much, and even though she knew today was not about them, she was restless with need.
Alex watched Jane unhappily huff her way through a CNN update and decided it was time for another interruption. Only this time, it would not be a card game or a quiet conversation on the terrace. She wanted Jane all to herself, no matter what.
“Hey, good looking,” she whispered provocatively in Jane’s ear. “I have an offer I know you won’t want to refuse.”
“Mmmm,” Jane mumbled distractedly, her attention riveted on the large television set and the latest forecast of numbers. A long night stretched out ahead and the outlook was still murky. Jane and her aides were obsessing over every exit poll and analysis on the television and the Internet.
“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” Alex began kneading the muscle knots in Jane’s back.
“Huh?” Jane leveled bleary eyes on Alex. Her mouth was a hard line of exhaustion and tension.
Alex sighed deeply, summoning her patience. She loved Jane, was prepared to make the sacrifices of a lover and companion, but she would not idly watch Jane wreck herself or their relationship. She smiled indulgently. “I need you to come with me for a minute.”
“Is something wrong?” Jane had turned back to the television again, acknowledging Alex’s healing hands with a quiet moan.
“Yeah,” Alex answered firmly. “There is. And I need you to come with me a minute to fix it.”
Jane frowned, but finally looked more interested in her lover than the TV. “Are you okay, Alex?”
Silently, Alex clasped Jane’s hand and began leading her out of the crowded living room, maneuvering them through the obstacle course of furniture and bodies, then through a second living room and past more people who kept trying to grab Jane for a minute of her time. It was like stick handling the puck from one end of the ice to the other, past five defenders, until you had a clear breakaway to the goalie. After several minutes of pure determination on Alex’s part, she managed to tug Jane into one of the bedrooms.
Alex authoritatively closed the door, switched on the lock, spun Jane around and kissed her without warning. Jane’s eyes widened at first, then slammed shut as their bodies moved closer, touching, joining, pressing together as the kiss deepened. Patiently, their mouths explored one another’s. Teeth lightly tugged at moist skin, tongues played vigorously. Jane was moaning softly, and Alex acted on the compulsion to slide her hands beneath Jane’s cotton blouse and delicately up her ribcage. She needed to feel her lover’s skin more than she needed to breathe right now.
Breathless, Jane pulled back to look at her. Her eyes were smoky with desire. “Oh, God, Alex. I’ve missed you so much. I’m so sor—”
Alex smothered her words with a ravenous kiss. She purposely backed Jane up against the door and pressed her body into Jane’s, as though she might take her right there, up against the door like that—completely reckless and impatient. Alex’s body throbbed with arousal, and she ached to touch the woman she loved in all the places that mattered. Jane’s neck arched in response to Alex’s urgency. Alex suckled the soft skin there, her hands roaming beyond Jane’s ribcage and to the soft underside of her breasts.
Alex caught her breath at the feel of Jane’s naked flesh in her hands, so warm and smooth and welcoming. Her fingers, hot and tingly, danced lightly over Jane’s swollen flesh, tracing the curves, lingering over the small shudders Jane emitted. She had only intended to fool around a little, give Jane some affection, indulge in a few needed moments together. But now. Jesus! She didn’t know if she could hold back. Didn’t know if she could stop herself from the salacious need to unzip Jane’s slacks and thrust her hand in there, where she knew it would be welcomed by a warm, wet, embrace. She was so wet and tight herself, it hurt.
“Wait. Alex. Honey.” With effort, Jane tried to extract herself from Alex’s insistent kisses.
Alex wanted so badly to ignore Jane’s quiet pleas. Her fingers found taut nipples and skillfully brushed over them. She marveled at yet a deeper stiffening of sensitive flesh. Oh, yes. It was obvious Jane wanted her just as much, and Alex smiled inwardly at the thought of a quick but ardent session of lovemaking.
“Oh, God, Alex.” Jane pulled back more assertively. “Baby. Please,” she said between breaths, her voice thick with disappointment and frustration.
Alex exhaled in defeat, slowly withdrawing her lusty explorations. She pressed her sweaty forehead to Jane’s.
Jane touched Alex’s face tenderly and kissed her chin lightly.
“I want you so much, Jane,” Alex said huskily. “Let me make love to you. Right now.”
“I want to make love to you too, Alex. But I want it to be perfect. I want us to have a nice evening together . . . tomorrow night. We’re flying back to the island in the morning, and we’ll have our romantic evening. I promise. No matter what happens with the election outcome, we’ll have our night.”
Alex swallowed, fighting the ebb of her desire. She was tired of waiting. A quickie wasn’t the most romantic liaison in the world, but it was better than nothing. “It doesn’t have to be perfect, sweetheart. It doesn’t have to wait.”
Jane kissed her softly. “Yes, it does. Alex, my whole world has been so rushed and crazy over the past year. So much of it is just a blur. I don’t want it to be like that with us.”
Alex nodded reluctantly. Jane was right. Their first time together as a couple shouldn’t be some hurried, fumbling interlude, especially during the tumult of election day. Hell, no. They would wait and it would be damn well worth it.
Alex smiled, rubbed noses playfully with Jane. “Damn right we’re going to wait.”
An eyebrow rose in response. “We are? I mean . . . you didn’t have to agree so quickly.”
Alex laughed. “You want me to fight it?” She playfully thrust her hands back under Jane’s shirt, eliciting a squeal.
“All right, all right. Stop teasing me, or I’m the one who’s going to throw you on the bed and have my way with you.”
A new round of desire pulsed through Alex as she toyed with the fantasy of Jane shoving her to the bed, straddling her, her pelvis grinding against her, breasts dipping over her face, brushing against her, rising again. Oh, God. This is driving me crazy.
Jane seemed to sense the resurging fire in Alex and pulled away to put some distance between them.
“I’m making it worse, aren’t I?”
Alex growled in frustration. “It’s okay, darlin’. We’ll wait.” She moved closer, her finger tracing an invisible line down Jane’s jaw and throat. “I want you rested. And I want you all to myself for the entire night tomorrow.” With a leer, she added, “Because that’s how long it’s going to take.”
Jane gave a little shiver, her nostrils flaring. She winked slowly, seductively, then licked her lips. “You’ve got yourself a date.”
Alex could not stay up any longer. Her head throbbed and she felt like crap—the lingering effects of her concussion made worse by exhaustion and stress. She looked across the room at Jane, who sat slouched in deep conversation with Dennis Collins. Her heart sank at the dark circles beneath her eyes and the obvious fatigue in her body. Aides strolled by with their lap-tops and cell phones as the activity showed no signs of abating.
“Alex, you look exhausted.” Maria Kincaid crouched down beside Alex’s seat. She had accompanied them on the flight to Miami and would return to Michigan with them. “You really should go to bed, dear.” Her voice was soothing, her eyes full of concern.
Alex smiled limply. “I don’t want to leave Jane. The election is still too close to call, and I know she must be going crazy inside.”
Maria smiled. “You’re right. She will be going crazy. And she should probably be going to bed with you and getting some rest.”
“But she won’t,” Alex said grimly, watching as Clara bent and said something in Jane’s ear.
“Right again. She won’t. The West Coast numbers won’t be in for a couple more hours. You know this is something she has to do, Alex. She has to see this through, right to the end. They all do.”
Alex felt her heart swell. She loved Jane so incredibly much, it felt like that love might swallow her whole, make her disappear inside it. She respected Jane so much, admired all the hard work and commitment she had put into this, her dream. She didn’t want to see it end any more than Jane and every other person in this room did. She felt the prick of tears sting her eyes. “God. I hope this works out. I don’t know what we’ll do if—”
“We can’t worry about that right now, Alex.” Maria looked across the room at Jane, then back at Alex. “If I promise to look out for my daughter, will you go to bed?”
Alex smiled. “Deal.” She rose slowly, waiting for the dizziness to subside. She didn’t know if she’d be able to sleep, but she’d at least try. And while she hoped Jane would join her at some point for a few hours of sleep, she knew it was not likely.
Alex awoke to quiet movement in the dawn light, felt the bed-covers being pulled back. A lithe body clothed in thin cotton slid in next to her.
“It’s me, honey,” Jane whispered.
“Good,” Alex replied groggily. “Only sexy women are allowed in my bed. Lucky for you, you qualify.”
Jane kissed her softly, then broke away, giggling.
Alex felt her nerves prickle and grew instantly alert. “You’re in a good mood. Does that mean . . . ?”
She felt Jane smile against her throat, then trail a line of soft kisses beneath her jaw. “Yes,” she said. “It does.”
“Oh, my God.” With both hands, Alex pulled Jane’s face level with hers. She could barely see Jane’s eyes in the murky light, but she sensed the joy in them, felt the grin on her face. Alex’s throat tightened and she could barely speak. She wanted to cry. “You did it, honey.” She kissed the corners of Jane’s mouth around her lover’s elation.
“Yeah. We did it. All of us.” Jane’s throat was raw with exhaustion and exuberance. “It was close, but California threw us over the top.”
“Thank God for the State of California!” Alex kissed Jane, softly at first, then harder. “You can fill me in later. And I want to hear every detail. But not right now. Right now I just want to feel you.”
Jane moved closer to Alex, nestling into her. “I could take this nightshirt off and you could show me how happy you are for me,” she burred seductively, but there was no mistaking the weariness beneath her words.
Alex licked Jane’s throat. “I’ll bet you’ve used that line before.”
Jane gasped in mock surprise. “Not in at least six months!”
Alex laughed. “God, I love you Jane Kincaid. I mean, Madam Vice President.”
Jane sniggered. “It’s just Jane. Just like I told you the first time we met, remember?”
Alex moved on top of Jane, her arms lightly pinning her. “Oh, I remember. You looked so crabby that first time, even though you were beautiful as hell. I thought you were going to bite my head off.”
“I was crabby because I thought you were some hardass who was going to make my life miserable.”
Alex kissed Jane’s forehead, then each cheek. Her mouth hovered over Jane’s. “I did have some moments of making you miserable. And don’t tell anyone I’m not really a hardass.”
Jane’s mouth rose to claim Alex’s. “You never made me miserable, Agent Warner. I did a fine job of doing that to myself. And to you. I’m just glad you waited for me.”
They kissed again, tenderly, and Alex felt her body stirring against the soft, pliant woman beneath her. She couldn’t be in the same room as Jane and not want to make love to her. Even in a roomful of people, never mind in the same bed together. It was like some kind of cruel test, all this waiting.
The kiss intensified, and Alex felt the blood rushing hotly through her, igniting her skin, sharpening her desire. Their mouths parted and Alex flicked her tongue against Jane’s, daring her to reciprocate. Jane answered spiritedly, pushing into Alex’s mouth, her body beginning to pulse rhythmically against Alex.
“Jane. Honey.” Alex spoke softly in defiance of the screaming urgency of her body. She knew she was a heartbeat away from pushing Jane’s nightshirt up, ripping down her own boxer shorts, and thrusting herself against her lover’s rigid desire.
“Don’t stop,” Jane said breathlessly. “I mean it this time.”
“I have to.” Alex swallowed painfully. “We’re supposed to wait. Remember your promise?”
“Fuck my promise.” Jane wrestled an arm free and reached for Alex’s waistband.
Alex playfully ran her fingertips across Jane’s throat. “I thought politicians never break their promises.”
Jane moaned, pressing her pelvis against Alex again. “So I’ll be the first.”
Alex grabbed Jane’s wrist and pulled it firmly away from her shorts, then rolled onto her side and faced her. She smiled, enjoying seeing Jane this way—bossy and insatiable. “I love how you look all hot and pissed off at the same time.”
Even in the dim light, Alex could make out Jane’s deep frown and the grimace on her mouth. She leaned closer and kissed the tip of Jane’s nose. “All right. I know I’m being evil. But I want you to get some rest. I told you, our first time, I’m going to keep you awake all night.”
Jane rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “Tell me again why you are going to need me awake the entire night?”
Alex chuckled. That was more like it. “Because that’s how long it’s going to take me to fuck you every which way I can, and for you to come more times than you can count.”
Jane laughed, but Alex noticed her breath quicken. “My, you are such a romantic.”
“Okay, okay. I’m not exactly a poet. I prefer to be more direct.”
Jane moaned a little. “Direct is good.”
Alex reached over and caressed Jane’s cheek, brushing her hair away. “Tonight was the biggest night of your life. Tomorrow night is going to be the second biggest night of your life, and I don’t want you getting the two of them mixed up.”
Jane clasped Alex’s hand, gently pulling it away from her cheek and to her lips. “I love you so much, Alex. How did I get so lucky this year?”
Alex watched as Jane kissed each of her fingers. “Somebody once said you make your own luck.”
“I don’t know if I entirely agree with that. But I’d like to think we weren’t an accident.”
“We weren’t,” Alex said with certainty. “I think I’ve been waiting for you all my life.”
“Mmmm. I know I have.”
“Can you sleep for awhile my darling?”
Jane yawned. “Only an hour. Two at the most. Then we have breakfast with Collins and all our staff.”
Alex smiled in anticipation. “Then we fly to Mackinac Island, right?”
“Right,” Jane answered faintly. She was out before Alex could say anything more.
Chapter 15
Jane happily watched Alex take a sip of Chianti, hold it in her mouth to taste it, then swallow luxuriously. She looked like a condemned woman taking her last drink, delighting in every drop of the ruby red liquid.
“My. You seem to be enjoying that wine.” Jane took a pleasurable drink from her own glass and gazed over the candlelight, feeling the most content she’d felt in . . . she couldn’t remember when, actually. Her soul was at ease, her heart burst with a serene, limitless joy. And even though her body was still tired, it felt at peace. She could not imagine anything being more perfect . . . except perhaps if she were the president-elect instead of the vice president-elect. But she would only look forward now, not back.
Alex grinned. “My first drink of alcohol since that stupid crash.”
“Are you okay?”
“More than okay, my darlin’. But I don’t think my head will be able to handle more than a glass or two.”
Jane smiled slyly. “Perfect. I don’t want you inebriated tonight.”
Alex raised her eyebrows teasingly and dropped her voice. “Are you planning to take advantage of me?”
Jane laughed, impatient for sex but enjoying the anticipation of it, too. “I just might.” She rested her elbows on the table and leaned toward Alex. “You promised something about keeping me up the whole night, remember? I think you’re going to be a busy woman.”
Alex made a face and pretended to search her memory. “Hmm, I don’t remember that. They said there might be some short-term memory loss with this concussion.” She raised playful eyes to Jane. “Are you sure I wasn’t talking about a marathon game of Scrabble or something?”
