The Candidate, page 26
Jane’s smile was reassuring. “I will always be honest with you, Alex. And yes, I want you with me. You’re my rock, my inspiration. My love. I will not lose you, Alex. Not for anything.”
Alex hesitated, then squeezed Jane a little tighter to prepare her for what she was about to say. “I want to be your protector again.”
Jane’s eyebrows quirked in confusion, but she said nothing.
“Honey. I want to be with you as your lover, your partner. But I also want to be on your security detail.”
Jane’s mouth opened and her chin began to quiver a little. Her eyes darkened ominously. “Alex, please.” Her voice was raw with emotion. “When I first heard you were in that car crash, I . . .” She closed her eyes tightly, her forehead creased with worry.
“It’s okay, honey. I’m okay.”
“I know. But I can’t go through that again. I can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt.”
Alex drew a deep, steadying breath and thought quickly of how she could persuade Jane. “And I can’t go through the next four years having you gone half the time, and not knowing how you are, and what you’re doing, and whether you’re safe. I’m in the best position to keep you safe, Jane. I really believe that.”
For a long moment, Jane was silent, pensive, her face devoid of emotion as she thought. When she finally spoke, her voice was even and matter-of-fact. “There’s only one condition for me to accept that.”
Alex looked eagerly at her, both excited and fearful.
“I want us to be able to keep each other safe, Alex. And that means we work as a team. Side by side. And no secrets.”
Alex smiled in spite of herself, thrilled by Jane’s answer. “Secrets? I wouldn’t keep secrets from you, darlin’.”
But Jane wasn’t smiling. “I mean it. Any threats or safety concerns you have, I need to know about them, too. And then we decide what to do as a team.”
Alex bit back her sarcasm. “You’re right, Jane. We’ll work together . . . if it’s not too much togetherness for you.”
Jane smiled. “There’s no such thing, from my point of view.” She sighed heavily, her eyes taking full stock of Alex. “I don’t want to lose you, Alex. And the best way of ensuring that is to keep you next to me.”
Alex laughed. “I feel the same way about you. Why do you think I suggested it?”
Concern etched its way onto Jane’s forehead again. “When will you be ready for work?”
“Hopefully by the inauguration.”
“No. I want you by my side at the inauguration. As my partner.”
“All right. How about the day after the inauguration.”
Jane looked contemplative. “It’ll take some hoops to jump through, you know. To get you on my detail when we’ve told the world that you’re my girlfriend.”
Alex kissed Jane tenderly on the lips, then the forehead, wanting to smooth out those frown lines. “I know you can do anything you set your mind to.”
Jane laughed. “You’re pretty sure of that, aren’t you?”
“Of course. What do you think made me fall in love with you?”
Jane gasped teasingly. “I thought it was my big brown eyes.”
Alex laughed and kissed Jane again. “That, too. And your smile. And your sexy ass. And your soft lips, and your superb tits, and your delicious—”
“All right, all right. I get the picture.” Jane playfully slapped Alex on the shoulder. “God, Alex. I love you so much.”
“And I love you, Madam Vice President.”
Publications from Bella Books, Inc.
The best in contemporary lesbian fiction
P.O. Box 10543, Tallahassee, FL 32302
Phone: 800-729-4992
www.bellabooks.com
ASPEN’S EMBERS by Diane Tremain Braund. Will Aspen choose the woman she loves. . . or the forest she hopes to preserve . . . 978-1-59493-102-4 $14.95
THE COTTAGE by Gerri Hill. The Cottage is the heartbreaking story of two women who meet by chance . . . or did they? A love so destined it couldn’t be denied . . . stolen moments to be cherished forever. 978-1-59493-096-6 $13.95
FANTASY: Untrue Stories of Lesbian Passion edited by Barbara Johnson and Therese Szymanski. Lie back and let Bella’s bad girls take you on an erotic journey through the greatest bedtime stories never told. 978-1-59493-101-7 $15.95
SISTERS’ FLIGHT by Jeanne G’Fellers. Sisters’ Flight is the highly anticipated sequel to No Sister of Mine and Sister Lost, Sister Found. 978-1-59493-116-1 $13.95
BRAGGIN’ RIGHTS by Kenna White. Taylor Fleming is a thirty-six-year-old Texas rancher who covets her independence. She finds her cowgirl independence tested by neighboring rancher Jen Holland. 978-1-59493-095-9 $13.95
BRILLIANT by Ann Roberts. Respected sociology professor, Diane Cole finds her views on love challenged by her own heart, as she fights the attraction she feels for a woman half her age. 978-1-59493-115-4 $13.95
THE EDUCATION OF ELLIE by Jackie Calhoun. When Ellie sees her childhood friend for the first time in thirty years she is tempted to resume their long lost friendship. But with the years come a lot of baggage and the two women struggle with who they are now while fighting the painful memories of their first parting. Will they be able to move past their history to start again? 978-1-59493-092-8 $13.95
DATE NIGHT CLUB by Saxon Bennett. Date Night Club is a dark romantic comedy about the pitfalls of dating in your thirties . . . 978-1-59493-094-2 $13.95
PLEASE FORGIVE ME by Megan Carter. Laurel Becker is on the verge of losing the two most important things in her life—her current lover, Elaine Alexander, and the Lavender Page bookstore. Will Elaine and Laurel manage to work through their misunderstandings and rebuild their life together? 978-1-59493-091-1 $13.95
WHISKEY AND OAK LEAVES by Jaime Clevenger. Meg meets June, a single woman running a horse ranch in the California Sierra foothills. The two become quick friends and it isn’t long before Meg is looking for more than just a friendship. But June has no interest in developing a deeper relationship with Meg. She is, after all, not the least bit interested in women . . . or is she? Neither of these two women is prepared for what lies ahead . . . 978-1-59493-093-5 $13.95
SUMTER POINT by KG MacGregor. As Audie surrenders her heart to Beth, she begins to distance herself from the reckless habits of her youth. Just as they’re ready to meet in the middle, their future is thrown into doubt by a duty Beth can’t ignore. It all comes to a head on the river at Sumter Point. 978-1-59493-089-8 $13.95
THE TARGET by Gerri Hill. Sara Michaels is the daughter of a prominent senator who has been receiving death threats against his family. In an effort to protect Sara, the FBI recruits homicide detective Jaime Hutchinson to secretly provide the protection they are so certain Sara will need. Will Sara finally figure out who is behind the death threats? And will Jaime realize the truth—and be able to save Sara before it's too late? 978-1-59493-082-9 $13.95
REALITY BYTES by Jane Frances. In this sequel to Reunion, follow the lives of four friends in a romantic tale that spans the globe and proves that you can cross the whole of cyberspace only to find love a few suburbs away . . . 978-1-59493-079-9 $13.95
MURDER CAME SECOND by Jessica Thomas. Broadway’s bad-boy genius, Paul Carlucci, has chosen Hamlet for his latest production and, to the delight of some and despair of others, he has selected Provincetown’s amphitheatre for his opening gala. But Alex Peres realizes the wrong people are falling down, and the moaning is all too realistic. Someone must not be shooting blanks . . . 978-1-59493-081-2 $13.95
SKIN DEEP by Kenna White. Jordan Griffin has been given a new assignment: Track down and interview one-time nationally renowned broadcast journalist Reece McAllister. Much to her surprise, Jordan comes away with far more than just a story . . . 978-1-59493-78-2 $13.95
FINDERS KEEPERS by Karin Kallmaker. Finders Keepers, the quest for the perfect mate in the 21st century, joins Karin Kallmaker’s Just Like That and her other incomparable novels about lesbian love, lust and laughter. 1-59493-072-4 $13.95
OUT OF THE FIRE by Beth Moore. Author Ann Covington feels at the top of the world when told her book is being made into a movie. Then in walks Casey Duncan the actress who is playing the lead in her movie. Will Casey turn Ann’s world upside down? 1-59493-088-0 $13.95
STAKE THROUGH THE HEART: NEW EXPLOITS OF TWILIGHT LESBIANS by Karin Kallmaker, Julia Watts, Barbara Johnson and Therese Szymanski. The playful quartet that penned the acclaimed Once Upon A Dyke are dimming the lights for journeys into worlds of breathless seduction. 1-59493-071-6 $15.95
THE HOUSE ON SANDSTONE by KG MacGregor. Carly Griffin returns home to Leland and finds that her old high school friend Justine is awakening more than just old memories. 1-59493-076-7 $13.95
WILD NIGHTS: MOSTLY TRUE STORIES OF WOMEN LOVING WOMEN edited by Therese Szymanski. 264 pp. 23 new stories from today’s hottest erotic writers are sure to give you your wildest night ever! 1-59493-069-4 $15.95
Tracey Richardson, The Candidate
