Dirty Work (17 page)

B
efore
she even has a chance to knock, I’m pulling her inside the hotel room and wrapping her in my arms. She melts into me, squeezing my body tightly as if I’m her anchor.

“It’ll be okay,” I whisper in her hair.

“It won’t be okay. Nothing will ever be the same.” She fists my shirt in her hands and buries her face in my chest.

I soothe her, rubbing her back, and I kiss her head tenderly. “I’m sorry,” I tell her because I don’t know what else to say in a moment like this. My hands tangle in her hair, resting at the nape of her neck, and I stay silent.

She peers up at me with glassy eyes, tears ready to fall. “I knew my father was a jerk, but I didn’t realize what an asshole he really is, Jude.”

I hold back my laughter. Most people know Stan Preston isn’t a good man—he’s a politician and one that’s been in the system for far too long to keep his nose clean. But even if the world knew it, his daughter hadn’t processed the information. She looked at her father with rose-colored glasses. It’s hard to see the imperfections in our families, even if they’re obvious to everyone else.

“I’m so mad right now, I want to…”

“I know,” I say, tightening my arms around her.

“I feel like my life is spinning out of control, and no matter how hard I try to stop it, I can’t.”

Pressing my lips against her forehead, I whisper. “I’m sorry.”

She looks up, meeting my lips. “You’re the only person in my life who brings me joy.” She smiles softly.

My hands move to her face, cupping her cheeks in my palms and I return the smile. “I feel the same.” Leaning forward, I brush our lips together, relishing her softness.

She stands on her tiptoes and snakes her arms around my neck. “Kiss me, Jude. There’s nothing more I want than to get lost in you tonight.”

“Are you sure about that, Reagan? There’s no going back.”

“I’m sure,” she whispers, looking me straight in the eyes without blinking.

This isn’t how I planned our first time to take place, but after months of kissing, flirting, and heavy petting, I can’t resist. There’s also something undeniably hot about knowing I can make the rest of the world go away for her.

I crush my mouth against hers, inhaling her breath and mingling it with my own. In this moment, everything else in our lives begins to fall away and the only thing that matters is us.

Her hands glide under my shirt, sending chills down my spine from the scrape of her fingernails against my skin. My hands sweep down her body, cupping her ass in my hands as I lift her against me and carry her toward the bed. Our lips never leave each other, the need to stay connected and lost stronger than ever before. There’s nothing soft and gentle about this. We’re needy, greedy, and hungry for the other.

Gently, I place her on the bed underneath me and settle between her legs. My cock’s already hard, straining against my sweatpants and aching to be inside her.

The tips of my fingers find the straps of her cami, sliding them down her arms to expose her breasts. I’m not ready to break our kiss; the air she feeds me is far too sweet to stop.

My hand moves from her arm to her chest, grasping her bra-clad breast in my palm. Her heart’s beating wildly under my fingertips, matching the rapid rhythm of my own. The tiny moan she’s making has my brain going haywire, telling me to go faster than I want to, and I ignore it. I’m going to savor every moment I’m touching Reagan because I don’t know when I’ll have another chance.

She’s clawing at my skin and moving my shirt up my back. When her hands are between my shoulder blades, our lips part while she pulls the shirt over my head.

As soon as my head is free, my lips drop to her neck and blaze a trail to her chest, yanking her breast free from her bra. Her back arches off the bed as I pull her nipple into my mouth and begin to toy with it. The hardness mixed with the lush softness of her body drives me wild with lust. I need to taste her, explore her entire body, and claim her as mine.

Working her sweatpants down her legs, I rip her panties down too before pushing myself up. I settle back on my feet and stare down at her, dragging my fingertips across her smooth skin. “Give me everything tonight, Reagan. Work out all the hurt and anger against my body,” I tell her as I slide her pants off and climb off the bed. They get tossed to the side, joining the pile of clothing already on the floor.

Her fingers are gripping the comforter and her legs have closed slightly, but I nudge them apart as I climb back onto the bed and nestle in between them.

“Jude,” she moans. “It’s never been like this for me. With you, everything is so much more.”

Tears shine in her eyes and I feel a catch in my throat.

“For me, too,” I say, clearing my throat. “But it’s hard to put into words.”

“Don’t say anything,” she says softly. “Just show me.”

I splay my hand across her stomach and bring my mouth down against her, gently licking her with the flat of my tongue. Her back arches off the bed and she gasps for air, fisting the comforter tighter. My mouth comes down on her again, needing another taste of her sweetness. She moans and flattens her feet against the mattress, letting her legs spread farther.

I’m hungry for her, hungrier than I ever remember being for anything in my life. Her fingers twist into my hair, holding my face against her pussy.

She’s moaning my name and tugging on my hair, driving me crazy with lust as I feast on her body. My tongue is sweeping against her, and her moans grow breathier and higher pitched the harder I suck.

When her breathing turns ragged and she starts to chant, “Yes, Yes,” I know I have her on the brink.

My hands slide under her ass, lifting her body so I can get a better angle. I bury my face against her.

“Yes. Oh, my God. I’m so—” she grunts and goes silent just as her body tenses in my hands.

Her thighs close, trapping me in paradise, but I don’t stop. I could die here and be a happy man. There’s no sweeter death than this. I’m moaning my happiness against her clit, giving her a new sensation as her body’s quaking against me. Her cries of pleasure make my cock throb with need, but there’s something more powerful than that happening inside me. It’s like I’ve already emptied myself into her, in a way that’s more than physical.

She sucks in a breath before collapsing against the mattress. “Fuck.” She blinks repetitively to clear her haze.

My eyes are still locked on hers when I lift my face and lick my lips clean. “That was so fucking hot. There’s nothing like watching you come apart because of me.” I’m climbing up her body and kicking off my pants. When my dick nudges her opening, I stop. “Fuck, I don’t have a condom.”

I start to think of how to remedy the situation. Would the concierge deliver one? I’m sure that would make the tabloids by morning.

Her fingers are stroking my shoulder muscle. “When were you tested?”

“Last month, but it’s been months since I’ve been with anyone. I always use protection and every test has been clean.”

“Me too,” she says, locking her ankles against my ass. “And I’m on the pill.”

Her soft skin and faint amber scent test my already fading control. I’ve never fucked a woman without a condom.

“Reagan…you could tempt a saint.” I want to stay still and memorize the way she feels in this moment, but my body’s screaming at me to crawl inside of her.

“Good thing you’re not one.” She smiles up at me lazily and digs her heels into my ass, pushing my cock against her. She lifts her head and captures my lips with hers. Our tongues tangle together and all thoughts of waiting evaporate. “Fuck me,” she whispers into my mouth.

I may be cautious, but I’m not an idiot. When the woman you’ve fallen in love with tells you to fuck her, you do.

Reaching between us, I guide my cock through her wetness before inserting just the tip, careful not to hurt her. She gasps and tenses underneath me. My vision blurs as I push deeper.

Her warmth surrounds me, and I’m lost. Our bodies move together, grinding against each other slow and purposeful. Our lips are inseparable and our hands are roaming the other’s body as we move in sync.

I’m not banging her like a porn star. This isn’t about showing off or proving my manhood. This is something different—something more.

Our bodies are connected, and our souls are fusing together—becoming one.

When she comes apart beneath me, panting and crying out my name as she milks my cock dry, I know I’ve just lost myself to her forever. And it feels damn good.

We lie side by side with our limbs tangled together, both sweaty and satisfied.

She rolls slightly, curling into my body, and I wrap an arm around her back. “I just want to stay here forever,” she admits.

“Me too, Reagan. Me too.” I kiss her forehead and pull her closer.

She peers up at me, her cheeks pink and flushed. “What happens now?”

“Fuck if I know.” I blow out a breath and think about the answer to that question.

What happens when two people who are supposed to hate each other feel the exact opposite? Before tonight, there was enough on each of us to end both of our political careers, but now… Now there’s more than just a job on the line.

Reagan Preston has made me feel things I have never felt before. No one has ever captured me the way she does. No woman has made me fall in love so quickly and completely.

She not only got under my skin, but she worked her way into my heart.

Neither of us has looked ahead or thought about the consequences of our actions, but I’m sure we’ll find out sooner rather than later what type of ramifications we’ll face.

I don’t even care. At this point, if it’s Reagan or a Senate seat, I’m choosing her.

I
’m tangled up inside
, feeling overjoyed and devastated, hopeful and ruined.

My night with Jude was just the salve my wounded heart needed. His warmth and strength were my anchor, and the rest of the world disappeared as he poured his emotions into me in ways I never knew possible.

It was physical sex: sweaty, deep, and mind-blowing. But there was something so much deeper to it that magnified everything.

When he kissed me good-bye before I slipped out of the room just before dawn, he told me everything would be okay. His eyes were the shade of dark steel, and the intensity I saw in his gaze made me believe him.

Lexi is waiting for me on my campaign bus, which is parked behind my Chicago campaign headquarters. She’s giving me a look of concern when I step on and hand her one of the two Starbucks cups I’m carrying.

“What’s going on?” she asks. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

I sigh deeply and sit down across from her at the small kitchen table on the bus. I needed this time alone with her, before any of the other staffers arrive. I don’t know if I can continue my campaign, but I know Lexi will give me the straight advice I need.

“Yeah, it’s bad.”

“Someone found out about you and Jude?”

I shake my head. “My father’s been having an affair. A long-term one. He has two kids with this woman. Actually, they’re not really kids anymore.”

“Holy shit,” Lexi says, her eyes wide with shock. “I can’t believe it.”

“I couldn’t either.”

“How did you find out?”

“I overheard Carl telling Jude he had photos.”

Lexi’s hands fly up and land on her cheeks. “What? We’re fucked. Like brutally ass-fucked.”

“No. I mean…yeah, but not like that. Jude told Carl not to release the photos.”

“Oh, Reagan.” Lexi’s voice is full of pity as she reaches across the table and takes my hand. “Are you sure you can trust him?”

“I’m sure. We…spent the night together last night.”

“Wow. Okay.” She takes a deep breath. “So that’s…also not ideal, but I understand, given the circumstances.”

“Lex, I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

She lowers her brows in a skeptical look. “What are you talking about?”

“The campaign. I mean, it’s over as we knew it, anyway. I gave my dad twenty-four hours to tell my mom or I’m telling her myself. And once she finds out, I assume she’ll leave him. She will. I know her well enough to know that. And once the reporters start digging, they’ll find out about the other woman. I’m shocked he’s managed to keep it a secret all this time.”

“But that’s him, Reagan, not you. You’ll lose some votes over it, but we’ll pick them up somewhere else.”

I run a hand through my hair and give her a tired smile. “Thank you. I couldn’t ask for a better friend. But I don’t think it’s meant to be.”

“Reagan, no,” Lexi says firmly. “You want this. You’ve fought too hard to quit now.”

“It was all for my father. He pushed me to run before I was ready because he owes people votes he can’t cast himself once he retires.”

Lexi’s expression darkens. “What an asshole.”

“I agree. And I don’t even want to go there. If I got elected and I voted a certain way—with no influence from my father—how could I prove there was no influence? The Preston name will be tainted by this scandal.”

“His name, yes. But you can survive this. I know you can.”

I take a long sip of my coffee, letting the warmth reach my belly before I speak again. “I probably could. Or I could at least fight to the finish. But, Lex…I don’t want to. As soon as the strings between my dad and me were cut, I felt so much lighter. I realized I don’t have to run now. This is my chance to decide what
I
want to do with my life. I never really had that before.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

I look down at the table. “I feel like I’m letting you and the whole staff down. Dropping out when I’m leading in the polls is…” I shake my head. “The national party people will never forgive me. This will be the end of my political career.”

Lexi shrugs and smiles. “If you want it to be. Never say never. You might come back in ten years and run…or not. Who knows?”

“We have to decide what to tell the staff. I’m not willing to tell them the whole story. My mom deserves privacy until the story breaks.”

“Just say it’s for personal reasons. You don’t owe anyone more information than that.”

“I feel like I do, though.” I look out the window at the sun, rising higher over the horizon. “These people have given up a lot for me. Gone to bat for me. And they’re all going to be out of a job.”

“So maybe we wait it out a little bit.”

“I can’t keep campaigning,” I say, sighing. “My heart’s just not in it anymore.”

“We can cancel appearances for the next week, and you can take a leave.”

“You think?”

The prospect of catching my breath and getting through my mom’s reaction to Dad’s news before thinking about this does sound better.

“Yeah,” Lexi says. “Let’s take some time to let the dust settle.”

“Okay. I like that plan.”

“Why don’t we go get breakfast while we wait for everyone to get here? When they do, we’ll tell them about the leave.”

We walk to a nearby diner and get pancakes. Talking and laughing with Lexi feels good. It reminds me that I do have more in my life than my work.

Work has always been my driving force—the first thing on my mind when I wake up in the morning. But lately, Jude has taken over my early morning thoughts. Hell, he takes up my thoughts throughout the day.

I can smell his light, masculine scent on me. I just couldn’t get close enough to him last night, even when my body was entwined with his and he was inside me. He started a fire inside me and then stoked the flames with his mouth, hands and…

“How big is he?” Lexi asks me as we’re finishing up our pancakes.

“Big. And he knows how to use it.”

“Bigger than your mystery guy?”

My smile fades. I couldn’t tell Lexi the truth about Tom and me in college. I couldn’t tell anyone, because Tom’s career was on the line.

“My mystery guy,” I say softly. “Yes, Jude is definitely bigger than him.”

“Good. That asshole broke your heart. I remember you crying for weeks over him.”

“More like days.”

“Seemed like weeks to me. Whoever he is, I hate him.”

I smile. “Yes, you do.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Why are you smiling like that?”

“Because the mystery guy who was my first…was Tom.”

Lexi sits back against her side of the booth. “What the fuck? What the actual, ever-loving fuck do you mean it was Tom? As in,
Tom
Tom?”

“Yeah.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“I couldn’t back then. He told me he’d lose his job if I told anyone.”

“He’s gonna lose his nut sac. I will enjoy sawing it off slowly now that I know he was the asshole who broke your heart.”

I laugh at the visual. “Lex, I love you. But the Tom thing…I’m over it. Completely over it. Now that I have Jude, none of that stupid shit from the past matters anymore.”

“So it’s serious with you guys?”

I can’t help the huge grin that spreads across my face. “I think so. I hope so.”

“I’m happy for you. You deserve a patch of sunshine in the middle of this shitstorm.”

“Thanks.”

My phone buzzes with a text. A couple seconds later, Lexi’s does, too. I look down at my screen.

Tom Harbor:
Get to the bus now. Don’t answer your phone unless you know the caller.

“Tom says we need to get to the bus,” Lexi says, looking up from her phone.

“Yeah, I got the same message.”

I pay our check quickly, and we walk back to the bus. As soon as I step on and look around at the faces of the staff, I know something is
very
wrong.

“What’s going on?” I ask Tom.

Even Tom, who’s usually cool under pressure, looks rattled. He passes me his phone, and I look down at the news story on the screen. My eyes scan over the headline and go straight to the photos.

The photos of my dad and his secret daughter are staring me in the face. He’s kissing her forehead in one, wrapping his arm around her in another, and beaming happily at her in a third.

I feel sick. I reach for the wall to keep my balance.

“I’m so sorry, Reagan,” Tom says, sounding sincere. “This is a shitty way to find this out.”

The bus is silent. Should I tell them I already knew? No, because then I’d have to tell them about Jude and me.

“Guys, Reagan needs some time,” Lexi says. “This is a shock to all of us. We’ll put out a press release that she’s taking a week away from the campaign. Everyone lay low, don’t speak one word to the media and wait to hear from me or Tom.”

The staffers all head for the door of the bus, most of them looking as numb as I feel.

“Sorry, Reagan,” Claire mumbles as she walks past me.

Just Lexi, Tom, and I are left when I feel my eyes flood with hot tears. I can’t process seeing the photos Jude told me he’d bury plastered all over the news.

“I can’t believe he did this to me,” I say, my voice breaking. “He gave me his word. I can’t…”

“What do you mean?” Tom asks.

Lexi steps in quickly. “She means her father, of course.”

“Gave you his word? This isn’t his first affair?” Tom shakes his head in disgust. “Bastard could have at least told me.”

“Speaking of bastards,” Lexi says, “Tom, you need to leave, too.”

“Leave?” He shakes his head. “No, we’ve got to start damage control. This is gonna hurt us pretty bad, but we can mitigate things.”

“I’m taking a week away,” I say sharply. “Away from the campaign. That means away from you.”

“This is a Senate seat the party needs to hold, so you don’t get that luxury, sweetheart.”

“Get the fuck off my bus,” I say, my tone low and level. “Go. Right now.”

“You need me to manage this, Reagan.”

“Manage it all you want, Tom. Just don’t expect anything from me. I’m taking a week away.”

“Those photos came from the Titan campaign. You know that, right?”

I swallow hard, but I can’t keep a couple tears from escaping. “I know that, yes.”

“And we have to hit back twice as hard.”

“I’ll talk to you in a week, Tom.”

He holds my gaze for a few seconds in what feels like a power play, but then he finally walks to the door and leaves.

I sit down and close my eyes. “Was he just playing me this whole time? Getting me to fall in love with him so he could ruin me completely?”

Lexi doesn’t answer, but then, what can she say? She warned me, and I didn’t listen.

My phone buzzes with a text, and I check it.

Dad:
Nice of your boyfriend to leak those photos. Hell of a way for your mother to find out.

I fire back an angry text.

Me:
How many times could you have told her in the past 22 fucking years, Dad?

He doesn’t respond.

“Let’s go to my place,” Lexi says gently. “You need some sleep.”

I nod numbly and hand her my phone.

“Keep this for now. I just can’t.”

She slides it into her purse, and we walk to her car. Once I’m safely buried under the covers of Lexi’s bed, I’ll cry. But for now, I can’t even think of any words to say.

This slap in the face from Jude stings like nothing ever has before.