LifeoftheParty (7 page)

“Jack,” she said, pulling Doug to her side, “I’d like you to
meet my…
friend
, Lieutenant Douglas Welland of the Camden Police.”

The spin with which she marked their association was hardly
lost on Doug. He extended his hand. “Congressman.”

Nor was the glance Jack Falco shot Gina before he grasped
Doug’s hand. “Lieutenant Welland, I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said, smiling
warmly. He leaned in, still holding on, and added
sotto voce
, “Thank you
so much for being here.”

Doug sniffed. Oh he was good. Eyes bleeding sincerity, mouth
angled with just the correct level of concern, a handshake capable of not only
telegraphing his Alpha dog status but also a fair amount of warning.
You
hurt her again and you’ll answer to me.
Doug locked on to his gaze, the
meaning clear.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else, Congressman,” he said, giving
the man’s hand an equally portentous squeeze.

Jack smiled again, letting go. “We have some things to talk
about then. Do you think you could meet me in my office tomorrow morning at,
say, ten o’clock?”

Doug noticed another man lingering at a discreet distance.
Falco’s own bodyguard no doubt, undercover state police, like Halchak had said.
Not that it mattered. It could’ve been FBI for all Doug cared. His only concern
for the foreseeable future was the woman standing inches away, watching them
both intently. “I’ll be there.”

“We both will,” said Gina.

“Obviously.” Jack’s mouth quirked at his aide-de-camp.
“Joined at the hip these days, aren’t you?”

Gina dipped her head with a snort, a blush rising up her
neck. Doug flexed his hand. Christ, he’d love to flatten him.

“Join me at my table?” Jack asked, not really a request as
he took Gina’s arm.

Doug had no choice but to follow. And watch. And steam. He
shouldn’t have been surprised at the sight of such an intimate tête-à-tête
between the two, leaning into each other, laughing at some insider observation,
whispering conspiratorially. Still, it chafed, seeing her so close to another
man, and he wanted to smack himself for being so juvenile. This woman had a
long, long history without him, before and after their liaison, and he had no
right to hinge her loyalty on a little more than two months together. And maybe
that was the part that hurt the most, if he had to get down to it. That even
though he once again had license to touch and kiss and make love to every inch
of her body, he couldn’t seem to breach the very core that was Gina Bardone.
All at once she laughed, tossing back her head, Jack grinning alongside her.
Doug wanted to rip the planking from the walls.

As they approached the table a man stood, tall like Jack and
Doug himself, yet lankier, as athletic as a runner. Next to him sat a woman,
mid-height from what he could tell and very blonde, but a natural one he
suspected, all pert and smiles and yet a bit on edge, as if she had just come
off the end of an argument.

“Ted,” said Jack. “Glad to see you could make it.”

Ted reached across the table to grasp Jack’s hand. “Wouldn’t
miss it for the world, Congressman.” He glanced to Gina. “Ms. Bardone.”

She stared at the man with obvious surprise. “Mr. Parks,”
she said, the ice in her voice palpable.

Parks held her gaze for a moment before glancing to the
woman on his left. “And this is my wife, Leslie.”

Was Doug the only one who noticed the shock on Gina’s face
when she looked to his wife? A little warning bell went off in his head.

But before Gina could utter a word, Jack had already come
around to Leslie’s side. “Ah, the lovely Leslie. You husband’s told me so much
about you.” He grasped her hand. “Jack Falco.”

“He has?” She arched a dubious brow at her husband before
looking back to Jack. “Don’t believe a word of it.”

“I don’t have to. I’m already forming my own opinion,” he
said, his hand closing over hers. “But I’ll also consider anything you’d like
to add.”

“Really? Oh my, now that’d be refreshing.”

“Wouldn’t it?” He smiled brilliantly before letting her go.
“Have you met my chief of staff, Gina Bardone?”

“I have now,” Leslie said, nodding to Gina. “Hi there.”

“Leslie,” Gina said, swallowing hard.

Jack looked from Gina to Ted. “I take it you already know
Ted,” said the congressman.

Gina crossed her arms in front of her. “Yes, we’ve—”

“We’re old friends,” finished Ted. “Way, way back.”

Doug flexed his hand again.
What the hell is going on
here?

Jack turned to Doug. “Doug, meet Ted Parks and his wife,
Leslie.” He looked to Gina. “Ted has just agreed to be my county campaign
manager.”

Doug barely had a chance to nod before Gina interjected
with, “Really.” She smiled tightly at her boss. “How wonderful.”

Jack continued, turning to Doug. “He’s got quite the résumé.
District attorney, former mayor of Riverboro, county party chairman, to name a
few.”

“Sounds like a perfect candidate for your seat,
Congressman,” said Doug.

Ted laughed. “Oh now where did you hear that? First I’d have
to talk Leslie into a change of venue.”

“Oh don’t blame it on me,” Leslie said dryly. “I think a
change of venue is
exactly
what we need.”

Doug had the impression if he and his wife were both sitting
down, Ted would be nursing a very sore ankle. He detested him on sight.

As a matter of fact, Doug was doing a fair amount of
detesting this evening. Everywhere he looked there appeared a new source of
irritation, every man who crossed Gina’s path seemingly harboring a hidden
past. Were they all former lovers? Or were they all just lying in wait? He
glanced to Ted Parks. There was definitely something between him and Gina. And
then there was Lee Roland. The man had Gina’s fingerprints all over him, as
plain as tattoos. And Jack.
Jack.

Doug narrowed his gaze on him. There he was, fawning all
over Gina again, both huddled over her BlackBerry as she tapped out some
directive he could very well just give her tomorrow. And now even with him—with
Doug—sitting so near to her, as he stared at her creamy back, her silky hair,
her breasts seemed to be heaving way, way too much every time Jack uttered what
vaguely resembled something witty. Doug jabbed his fork into his lobster tail,
the shell shattering. Good practice, he figured.

This is what he got for leaving her alone earlier in the
evening. When he was still coming down from their last encounter, when he needed
a bit of walking to calm his pounding heart, when being so close to her again
took his breath away. It almost happened, he almost allowed it, and he didn’t
know how much longer he could stop himself. It wasn’t natural and he knew it.

Even now, with her just across and a couple of hundred
voices swirling around him, he wanted her so badly it was all he could do to
keep from dragging her out the door and doing her right in the parking lot. And
when Ted came over to talk to her, when the wail of the band behind them made
him lean down and whisper in her ear, he felt his anger flare so dangerously no
way could any sane judge expect him to be responsible for what he came
perilously close to doing. He gripped the edge of the table.

Gina’s eyes shot to Doug’s and she glanced to the clock on
the wall. “Oh my God, look at the time. Jack, would you mind if we called it a
night?”

Jack looked to the clock as well. “Jeez, it is getting kind
of late.” He stood, rising to meet Gina and Doug. “Thanks so much for coming,
Doug,” he said, reaching to shake his hand. “I’ll see you in the a.m., right?”

“Ten,” Gina affirmed.

Ted stood as well. “And don’t forget to stop by county
headquarters. With the rally in Riverboro Sunday, there’s some things the two
of us need to shore up.”

Gina slanted him a glance. “I’ll try to make it Saturday,
but I really think the district office has everything under control.”

“Yes, but there’s still a few—”

“She said she’d try,” Doug said, his voice lethal. He came
around the table, taking Gina’s arm as he nodded to Jack. “Congressman.”

“Lieutenant Welland. See you tomorrow.”

And without another word, he nearly dragged her out the
door.

* * * * *

They were in the Holly House drive before Gina managed to
coax a reaction from him. “Fine display of Neanderthal etiquette tonight,
Doug.”

He glared at her, opening the door as they came to a stop.
He tipped the driver, not even sure if he had to, latching on to Gina’s arm to
haul her inside.

“Key,” he said, and she fumbled with her purse to retrieve
it, mumbling something he hadn’t the patience to decipher. He swiped the
keycard through the reader. Once they were inside he finally let go of her and
she winced, rubbing the spot where his handprint still remained.

“Bastard,” she hissed. “You hurt me. As a matter of fact,
you acted like a bloody idiot all night. Jesus, did you utter just one word,
one goddamned phrase that didn’t have a threat attached to it? How are you ever
going to look Jack in the eye tomorrow?” She tossed her purse to the sofa and
turned toward the bedroom. “Enough with this bullshit animal display. You want
to act all caveman?” She flung her arm toward the fireplace. “You can begin by
sleeping by the fire. Try not to burn yourself. I’m going to bed.”

Before she could take another step he lunged at her,
swinging her with such force she crashed into his chest with a thud. “If I’m
sleeping out here you’ll be under me,” he growled and, seizing her mouth with
his own, ripped her gown to the navel.

HOLLY HOUSE INN

THURSDAY 31 OCTOBER

11:47 P.M.

Gina would’ve gasped had Doug left her the breath to do it.
She collapsed in his arms, her breasts bared against the starched fabric of his
tuxedo, her ruined gown sloughing away to leave her upper torso naked and
writhing in his grasp.

“Let go, you son of a bitch!” she hissed against his mouth.
His answer was a bite to the corner of her lip. She responded by nipping his
tongue. Which only made him stab it deeper inside her mouth. “You animal,” she
choked out, her fists pummeling his chest.

He whirled her around, pressing her against the wall, nearly
lifting her off her feet when he grabbed her by the waist and ground himself
into her. She shivered, arching her neck as he bit his way across it, breathing
so heavily she began to feel lightheaded. And angrier than she’d ever been in
her life.

“What do you think—you’re doing?” she cried, still pummeling
him. She kicked his knee and he grunted, twisting her around to the back of a
chair, knocking over a lamp, which he sent sailing into a bookcase. His eyes
electrified, he shoved her gown over her knees.

Gina simply laughed. “Oh here we go again! You’re gonna eat
me and I’m gonna suck you dry.” She pressed the toe of her pump to his chest,
pushing him back. “Well, that’s not working for me anymore, sweetie. I need
someone who’ll work a whole lot harder than that. I need a
real
man who
knows how to fuck me.”

His pupils flared and instantly Gina knew she’d gone too
far. She swung herself over the chair and leapt to the floor, grabbing the
bodice of her ruined gown as she scrambled for the sanctuary of the bedroom and
its locked door. Precisely one breath and three feet later she knew just how
foolish that idea was. Doug’s arm locked around her, tumbling them to the
floor.

“Real man, huh?” he growled, propped over her, Gina under
him as he spread her legs with his. Within seconds he had her gown around her
waist and his fly opened, his cock springing forth with the most massive
erection Gina had ever seen. She inhaled sharply and immediately went wet, her
heart pounding out of her chest when he arched up and drove himself into her.

She yelped, her legs going limp. Doug reached under her
thigh and looped it over his arm, angling her for better depth as he pumped his
hips against her. “I’m the only man you’ll ever need,” he said, savaging her
pussy with such indescribable efficiency she could already feel the orgasm
working its way from her toes. He bent down to nip a corner of her breast,
leaving a mark. “Say it.”

“Jesus,” was all she could manage as her hips began to
quiver.

“
Say it
,” he insisted, spreading his palm over her
lower belly, his thumb teasing the edge of her clit.

She looked up at him, her eyes half-masted, to a face no
longer filled with jealousy or anger but a frantic longing. She raised her hand
to his cheek. “You’re the only man,” she said and he grasped her fingers,
kissing, devouring them. She let herself go, her climax rising with every
thrust until she nearly imploded, stiffening as its tendrils spread through her
like spilled mercury. He bent into her again, his mouth closing around a
nipple.

“Doug, oh Doug,” she murmured, “I’ve waited so long for
this. Waited so long for you.” He sucked her hard then, dragging his mouth to
hers, kissing her so tenderly her eyes stung with tears. “God, how I’ve missed
you.”

She could feel his lashes against her cheek as he kissed his
way across her face. “Gina,” he murmured, almost in thanks, and she raised her
hips to him, feeling such a surge of desire the thought of any other man coming
near her ever again was beyond comprehension.

“Doug,” she whispered, her hands smoothing the soft skin of
his ass, “no man has ever made me feel like you do. Has ever made me feel like
I do now.” She nipped his ear and his breathing rose, his hips thrusting with
new intensity as she felt his orgasm rising, knowing another of hers would soon
follow. “Oh Doug, oh sweetie…oh…” Who had ever fucked her like this? She
glanced down to see his slickened cock gliding in and out of her pussy, and it
nearly drove her insane. She squirmed beneath him but she was completely at his
mercy, yet still she wanted more. She wanted all of him, every inch, every last
ounce.

“Come in me, Doug. I want you to come in me,
please
.”

Immediately he stilled, looking at her in horror. Then, with
a shuddering gasp, he yanked himself from her and spilled into her gown. When
he was through, he slumped against her.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, holding her.

Gina sighed. Who was she kidding? In no way could things be
that simple. She shifted beneath him, running her fingers into his hair. “God,
we have a lot to talk about.”

He lifted himself from her and smiled painfully. “An
understatement, I’m sure.” Then he stood and reaching down, pulled her to her
feet. When she faced him he thumbed what used to be the bodice of her gown. “I
think I owe you a dress.”

She sniffed, pushing it off her. “Get yourself out of that
tux and we’ll call it even.”

“Deal,” he said, already stripping. When they both were
naked he carried her into the bedroom.

They didn’t talk, just pulled back the covers of the big bed
and crawled under them, Doug hanging his holster over the post, setting his
pistol to the night table. When he lay on his back, throwing one arm over his
head, Gina turned on her side and sprawled next to him, kissing his chest
before she laid her head against it. She could hear the soft thump of his
heart, heard it kick up a notch when she laced her leg into his.

“I haven’t fucked anyone since you,” he said, sliding the
pins from her hair.

That startled her. She couldn’t quite believe it. The Doug
she knew needed sex like a plant needed photosynthesis. “You haven’t had sex
since we’ve been together?”

He snorted. “I wouldn’t exactly say that. As the last couple
days have proved, there’s a whole lot you can do without fucking.”

“Yeah, but…” She didn’t know whether to feel outraged or
flattered. Which was ridiculous since she hadn’t exactly been celibate since
they’d been separated. “Well, I can’t say the same thing.”

“Not something I want to think about,” he said flatly, pulling
her just a bit closer. “I want you to know the other day I had about a million
blood tests done, for just about every disease known to man.”

She sat up. “Oh my God, why? Are you sick?”

“No. Not that I know of, I mean. I got them done for you.”

She traced his nipple with her finger, feeling contentious.
“So you’ve been a pretty bad boy.” Not that she wanted him to answer.

“Yes,” he said. “In ways that’d make your skin crawl.”

She drew back slightly. “Well, thanks for being so honest. I
guess that makes being with me kind of boring.”

He dragged her across his chest until her lips met his.
“You’re the most beautiful, most exciting woman I’ve ever known. All you have
to do is look at me and I want to fall apart. Christ, Gina.” He kissed her
deeply. “Can’t you see that?”

“All I can see,” she nuzzled his neck, “is how badly I
fucked your head. I never wanted to, Doug. You need to believe me.”

He slipped his arm around her. “Believe me, I’m trying to.”

“But you still don’t trust me.”

He sighed, looking away. “Gina.”

“No, don’t answer that. Not until you’re sure. I wouldn’t
want it any other way.”

She slipped from his arms, sliding down his chest until her
head rested on his belly. She ran her hand over his silky flatness, feeling the
taut muscles flex as her fingers glided across.
God, he has no idea how
beautiful he is,
she thought, burying her nose in the soft matting just
below his navel, kissing the indentation near his hip. Against his thigh lay
his still-flaccid cock, the length of which still astounded her, remarkable
even in rest. Her fingers crept forward and when she touched it, it flinched,
shocked. Gina smiled as it quickly went turgid. She pushed up, propping herself
between his slightly spread legs, her pussy resting against his stiffening
cock.

“How funny is it,” she rubbed against him, watching his eyes
half-mast, “that with all the trouble in the world, the wars, the injustice,
and even with someone out there threatening me, and you with your problems and
I with mine, yet we…” She leaned forward, brushing her lips against his. “Yet
here we are, just the two of us in this little bed, and right now there’s
nothing in the world more important than this. Or is there?” Her mouth crooked,
hoping in his world there wasn’t.

He clenched his eyes tightly for a moment before his hand
went around the back of her head and he pulled her to him, kissing her slowly
and deeply. “No, there isn’t. There never is with you.” He moved against her,
his now fully erect shaft pressing against her belly. “I want to fuck you,
doll,” he breathed against her mouth. “I want to be inside you.” He slid his
hand down her hip. “In my jacket, in the inside pocket, there’s some condoms.”

“No,” she said, kissing him, catching his tongue with hers.
“I want to feel you, feel all of you, I want your come inside me, filling me
up.”

He groaned, pressing against her. “No.” He nudged her away
from him, his passion-filled eyes clearing. “Gina, don’t.”

“But, Doug, I’m okay, really I am. I’ve always used a
condom, I’m on the Pill and you’re…” She pushed back, kissing her way down the
length of his body until she straddled his cock, her pussy so wet she could
slide right down him. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted,” she breathed,
reaching behind her to wrap her fingers around him, grazing his satiny tip with
her slick moisture, her fingers stroking his balls. She tossed her head, her long
hair spilling around her. “You’re the only man I’ll ever want.”

He grabbed her hips, groaning as he drove himself into her.
“God
damn
, Gina,” he rasped as his hips pumped her, “you’re going to
kill me yet, aren’t you?”

They didn’t talk after that. She just sat back and let him
fuck her, lifting her up with each thrust. She leaned forward and he took a
nipple in his mouth, sliding his hands up and down her breasts, biting kisses
across her until he left a trail of marks. Gina moaned, letting her hair fall
around him as she took his lower lip between her teeth and kissed him, his
taste a mix of brandy and urgency. She slid her hands to the bed and stretched
atop him, his cock still deep within her as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Come on up,” he said, pulling himself from her. He lifted
her easily and settled her over his mouth. Gina braced her hands not only
against the wall but also for his gorgeous assault. “Oh…my…God…” she moaned as
his tongue explored every inch of her pussy, his hand kneading her ass. Within
seconds she was quivering against his lips. With her climax still pulsing he
lifted her from him and rolled her to the mattress, Gina crying out when he
sank his cock into her.

What bliss
, she thought, her legs spread wide and
Doug between them, his hand caressing her cheek. How often had she thought
about this, how bright her memory had remained all those long, lonely nights.
She looked to him, his broad chest looming above her, his mouth crooked in
determination, those incredible eyes hooded and glazed with desire. As no doubt
were hers, and she stretched, her breasts arching into him. At that his eyes
flared and he stopped abruptly, pulling out and lifting her from the bed.

“Where we going?” she asked from within his arms. But he
just kissed her, more passionately than he had before. Gina melted into him,
her fingers ruffling his hair as he took them into the bathroom. He was still
kissing her when he reached into the shower and turned it on. When the water
was just right, he stepped into the tub and set her to her feet.

“Here’s your answer,” he said, kissing her neck as he
reached for the bar of soap. Her only commentary was a series of small sighs as
spread lather around her breasts, her belly and her pussy, turning her around
to run the bar between the cleft of her ass. She was fairly foaming when he set
the soap down and she braced against the tile, knowing only too well what was
coming. The first time they had tried it, it was her idea, wanting to get
adventurous and maybe a tad kinky. The subsequent times had always been at her
invitation. The fact that he was initiating it now was more than a little
exciting but, Gina thought, arching her ass, also just as telling.

Doug crouched behind her, kissing the soft mounds of flesh,
his lips lingering to leave a mark or two. Gina’s clit throbbed as he nipped
and kissed her, her ass slightly swaying as she felt a trail of something cold
and very slippery slide down between her cheeks. As the water rained over them
she squirmed in anticipation as he rose to his feet and, grasping her hips,
crouched slightly before he slid his cock into her pussy.

“Christ, Gina,” he rasped, “how I missed fucking you.” And
then he did, pumping her with rising urgency, faster and faster as his balls
lightly peppered her clit, pushing her once again into orgasm, and she moaned,
shaking against him. Suddenly he pulled out and the tip of his cock slid to her
anus, gently sinking in until he was buried as far as she could take him. Gina
froze, her back arched. Doug’s finger found her clit and slowly stroked it, her
insides burgeoning with such a depth of erotic fullness, she thought she might
collapse. But she couldn’t, not with Doug so intimately impaling her and moving
deliciously in and out, his fingers tightening around her hips. And when his
breathing kicked up, when he pushed even harder into her and a low growl worked
its way up his throat, she knew he was coming, feeling him pulsing, spilling
deeply inside her. The thought of his juices flooding her sent her over the edge,
as well as into an equal depth of rumination.