Seduction in Session (7 page)

Oh, but the press could be so creative. Besides, more than the media potentially threatened Zack. The Russian mob was somehow involved in all of this, and he wanted to make sure he put any connections between them and the White House to rest. “It doesn’t matter and
you know it. If you get mired in this kind of a scandal, no one will talk about anything else. Every drop of energy you have will go to changing the dialogue, so every bit of power you have could go down the toilet. We need to find her and shut this down now.” And figure out who the hell the mysterious Sergei was. It was a name he’d come across more than once, and this mysterious Russian seemed to be at the center of everything. He didn’t talk about it with Zack, though. As president of the United States, he had enough to worry about. “I’ll take care of this.”

“I know you will, Connor. I just can’t stand the fact that Dax got shot and Gabe and Everly almost died over this. I could just come out with this info myself. Maybe if I directly address it, I can shut it down.” A long sigh sounded over the line. “Roman’s threatening to hang himself. Or he’s trying to tell me I’m committing political suicide. He’s not very good at charades.”

He should have known Roman would be there. He was Zack’s right hand. “He might suck at charades, but he plays the game of politics well. Let me handle this. I’ll be fine.”

“No, I’m not going to ask him . . . What is wrong with you?” Zack’s voice got muffled for a moment. “Oh, all right. I want to know, too. Roman has a very vital question for you concerning the current operation.”

“Shoot.”

“You gonna do her?”

Connor snorted because even the most powerful political figure on the planet could still sound like a teenaged boy when he got around his friends. “That’s none of Roman’s business.”

“She’s kind of cute in a hipster way,” Zack pointed out. “You have to admit, it’s been a long time since you had a serious girlfriend.”

“Yeah, I gave up on that when the last one nearly put a knife through my heart.” He didn’t like to think about Greta. The willowy blonde had been beautiful and exciting and about as different from Lara Armstrong as possible. She would have sold her unborn children for pocket change. She’d also been a double agent, and now she was god only knew
where, being tortured for information. She could be dead for all he cared.

Maybe there was a reason his dick perked up around Lara. Unlike the last chick he’d fucked on a regular basis, the senator’s soft daughter wouldn’t attempt to carve him up.

“Lara Armstrong wouldn’t know what to do with a knife,” Zack offered. “She’s too busy saving puppies and complaining about my immigration policies. On the upside, she did run a story calling me the best hung of all the modern presidents. Shockingly accurate information.”

He laughed, but he didn’t actually like Lara wondering about the size of Zack’s package. Did she prefer slick politicians? Or was she all about the soft-looking dudes who played vagina rock and saved penguins? Maybe, but her nipples didn’t lie. Connor knew they got hard whenever he came close.

“Yeah, I’m going to do her.”

“I was joking, Connor. You really shouldn’t do that.” Zack’s voice went low. “From what I understand, she’s actually a sweet kid.”

The door opened and the senator stepped out of the little room, followed by his daughter. He would do well to remember that sweet kid sometimes ran ruthless stories. Deep down, she wasn’t so different from Greta. She just hid it better and masked her ambition under the guise of saving the world. But Lara Armstrong would publish any story she needed in order to further her agenda.

“But she’s got another side,” Connor argued. “She really does run that site and makes no excuses for it.” She was smart enough to know that she didn’t want her name associated with the sensationalist crap she published. That alone should tell everyone something about her. “She’s ruined the lives of several people in this town.”

Any one of whom could be attempting to kill her.

“Don’t be so dramatic. Capitol Scandals is really only responsible for two resignations, and I think the bastards deserved to go. One of them was indicted for fraud. The trial is pending.”

“Are you trying to tell me to let her go, Zack?” His eyes were on her as she thanked her nurse and took all the paperwork. The senator had brought her a change of clothes. She looked even younger in jeans and a simple red T-shirt. Her face had been scrubbed down and she wore a fresh, doe-eyed expression.

He wouldn’t let her go. Not even if his president told him to.

“No. Do what you need to. Just be careful with her. I wouldn’t want you to do anything you’ll regret. Keep me up to date.”

The phone clicked and he slid it back into his pocket. Zack didn’t understand that, in his line of work, he didn’t bother with regret.

L
ara’s eyes widened as she realized a crowd waited outside her tall, Beaux Arts–style building.

Connor sat in the backseat of her father’s staid Benz and sighed. “I told you they would show up.”

“Are those reporters?” Her dad peered through the windshield as dusk gathered while they waited at the stoplight about a block from her home. “Should I drive past them?”

It was odd to see her very take-charge father deferring to Connor, who still didn’t have a damn last name. She’d meant to ask him, but Nipplegate had happened. Then they’d argued over where she would sit. She’d wanted to ride in the front seat by her father. Connor had insisted she treat her dad like a driver and stay in back with him.

So naturally she found herself plastered against Connor, who had curled his arm behind her, cupped her shoulder, and slid her across the leather seat, dragging her close. “Senator, I think the best way to handle this is to blast through quickly. The press is a little like a kid with a shiny new toy. We’re only interesting until they’ve played with us a couple of times. Then something shinier will come along. I’ll take
Lara upstairs. She’s tired and she’s been through a lot today. You’ll make a statement that today’s incident is simply proof that D.C. needs more funding for crime prevention.”

They were missing an important opportunity. “And mental health screenings. And less motorcycles on the streets because they’re dangerous and the people who drive them are crazy douche bags. Damn. He was wearing a helmet, wasn’t he? I could have taken a real stand against people who don’t follow helmet laws.”

Connor’s hand around her shoulder tightened as he chuckled. He was amused by her, and that honest smile did something to her insides. “Let’s get through the night. Then you can start your campaign against motorcycle douches tomorrow. After getting run over by the herd, I’ll join you in that one.”

She hadn’t even asked if he’d been hurt. What was wrong with her? He’d protected her, made sure she’d gotten to the hospital. Yes, he’d totally taken over her life and was trying to upend it from top to bottom, but she needed to know he was okay. “Do you need to see a doctor? Is anything broken?”

“I’m a little sore. I think I almost got murdered by some chick’s Choo, but it didn’t break the skin. Other than some bruising tomorrow, I’ll be fine.” He lowered his head to hers as her father lurched forward with the green light, toward her building. “It’s sweet of you to worry. Look at me, Lara.”

He’d maneuvered her so that even her thigh felt glued to his. His face hovered above her own as he pulled her even closer into the heat of his body. Somehow her right hand had found its way just above his knee. The softness of well-worn denim covered his muscular leg. Lara shivered.

She immediately pulled away, but he dragged her hand back.

“No, you were right the first time. This is why I wanted you back here with me. We’re supposed to be together. Boyfriend, remember?” He pointed at himself.

“Connor, do you really think that’s necessary?” her father asked.
“She . . . well, she hasn’t dated much. I don’t know that she’s very . . . um . . . comfortable around men, if you know what I mean.” He stopped the car in front of the building, ready to make a left into the circular drive where the vultures waited.

What had her father just implied? “I’m comfortable with men.”

She settled in closer to Connor. There was that chuckle again, though this time she felt it go through his body.

“Your daughter likes men just fine, Senator. She’s a little out of practice, but yes, this ruse is necessary. If the press knows she’s hired a bodyguard, the story will seem so much more interesting, and we want to look as boring as possible. Senator’s daughter and her bodyguard equals a story to tell. Senator’s daughter has a loving boyfriend equals a big yawn.”

She looked up at Connor, and he was staring down at her intently, as if he wanted her, cared about her. That expression—which couldn’t be real—made her tingle in some very personal places. That just had to stop.

She turned back to her dad, their eyes meeting in the rearview mirror. “You thought I was a lesbian? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, you know. But I’m not.”

Her father turned a nice shade of pink. “Well, when you broke it off with Tom, I wondered a bit. And then you spent so much time with that Kiki girl.”

“You thought I was sleeping with Kiki?”

“Tom?” Connor’s whole body had tensed, his lazy affection evaporating. “As in your friend who knows everything, including your occupation? That Tom? You left him at the altar? Which altar was that, Lara? Please tell me it’s the one where you sacrificed his soul to some dark lord.”

“Tom knows?” Her father stopped the car in the middle of the damn intersection. “You told me no one knew. You promised.”

It had been just one little tiny baby lie to make her dad feel better. “It’s just Tom, and of course I didn’t sacrifice him to Satan. I just called
off our wedding. Oh, and Kiki knows, too, but I’ve never slept with her. Although she did offer to share Connor here with me.”

Connor’s jaw dropped, and she wondered how often he was left speechless. Probably next to never. But his shock didn’t last for long. “Let me get this straight. You told your deepest, darkest secret to a man you betrayed?”

That was a little overly dramatic. “I didn’t betray him. I just didn’t go through with our wedding.”

“I knew that Kiki girl was a bad influence,” her father said, shaking his head. “Lara, I forbid you to get involved in weird three-way sex.”

How the hell had this conversation gone downhill so quickly? She was glad she and Connor weren’t in a relationship for real because she wasn’t sure she could survive her dad and Connor working together to badger her.

Connor’s jaw firmed into a tight line as he reached for the ball cap he’d pulled from his duffel before setting it in the front seat. “Senator, we need to move. I’ll settle this with your daughter when we get upstairs. Keep the press off us and we’ll call you in a couple of days. And there will be no three-ways while I’m in charge of her. We’re going to talk about security, sweetheart. And decency.”

Her dad turned and she watched as one of the reporters apparently recognized the car. “I’m glad that you have a healthy sex life, Lara, but you don’t have to share men with your friends. There are more than enough to go around.”

“Kiki mentioned it, but I’m sure she was joking.”
I think
. “And I don’t have a healthy sex life.” She was doing that nervous word-vomit thing where she blurted out whatever came to mind. “The sexiest thing that’s happened to me lately was Connor covering me when that douche bag started shooting. It’s the first time I’ve had a man on top of me in years.”

Why had she said that? She was fairly certain her whole body had gone pink.

Connor caught her hand, threading their fingers together, and then
brought it to his mouth for a brief kiss that flashed another wave of heat through her system. “It was good for me, too, sweetheart. We’re here. Follow my lead.”

The door opened and she was nearly blinded by the lights flashing.

“Lara, do you think the killer was coming after you over your father’s stance on welfare?”

“What was it like staring into the face of a man who wanted to kill you?”

“What were you doing at the bus stop? Planning a protest? Did you stage this danger to bring light to a cause you believe in?”

She whirled around because that last question was ludicrous. “The bus is a better way to travel than private vehicles. Do you know how much gas we would all save if just ten percent more people took the bus to reach their destinations?”

Before she could say another word, she found herself cradled against Connor’s chest, her face nearly buried in his T-shirt.

Then her father stepped in. “Ladies and gentlemen, my daughter was having coffee with her boyfriend on 2nd when she was caught up in a random act of violence. It’s been a long day, and she’s tired. We ask you for some space and privacy so she can rest. The police know more about the incident than we do, but I believe this near tragedy should force us to look at funding for police officers and first responders . . .”

While her father went on, Connor expertly maneuvered her to the front entrance and had her through the door before she could explain her stance on gun control. He walked straight to the bank of elevators. “What floor? Quickly before they decide to follow.”

“I’m on ten.” She looked back out the windows. The reporters surrounded her dad, pointing cameras and microphones in his face. They seemed to be honoring his request to give her privacy—for now. She breathed a sigh of relief . . . before she realized something was wrong. “How did you get in? You need a keycard to have access to the building.”

The elevator doors opened, and he hauled her in. She noticed that the way the ball cap sat on his head obscured his face. He set his duffel at his side, punched the button for ten, and turned to her. “I stole yours. You need to keep it in a better place than loose in your purse.”

“Well, I didn’t expect anyone to try to steal it.”

“Because you’re naive, and I’m convinced of that because you think it’s a good idea to let the fiancé you dumped in on your secrets. Why don’t you just take out a billboard? Put your secret in neon lights.”

It had really been a hell of a day. “It’s my life. I run it the way I want.”

“Not while I’m in charge, you don’t. And you need to relax around me. If your father hadn’t distracted those reporters, there’s no way they would have believed we’re in a relationship. You were stiff. Hell, you barely looked at me. You certainly don’t act like a woman who has an attentive lover.”

Had he not heard a damn word she’d said? “Because I don’t. This is all stupid. It will go away. I’ll hide out in my apartment for a few days and this crap will be behind me. Then you can go back to California and order around all the women you like. And I’m stiff around you because you scare me.”

He was suddenly in her space, and it felt as if all the air had been sucked from the elevator. His chest brushed hers and she couldn’t help but tilt her head up to meet his demanding stare. He was so tall, so big and broad and manly.

“Then I have to make you comfortable around me in case this threat doesn’t go away. You’re stuck with me for a while. We might as well enjoy the time, sweetheart.”

“What does that mean?” The question came out all breathy and come-hithery when she’d really meant it as an intellectual question. Mostly.

“It means follow my lead and we’ll get along nicely. Relax, Lara.”
His mouth hovered right over hers, and she felt his hands trail up her shoulders and caress her neck until he cupped her face. “I’ll take care of you.”

“They’ll never buy it.” She couldn’t quite believe she was standing here with him, her heart threatening to pound out of her chest.

“I’ll make them. And I’ll make you believe it, too.” His mouth descended, covering hers.

Connor was so hard. His lips shouldn’t be that soft. But they were, as well as plump and sensual. It had been years since she’d pressed her body to a man’s and felt his dizzying heat seep into her cold bones until she melted into him.

His hands sank into her tresses. “So fucking much hair. It’s going to make me crazy.”

She wasn’t sure how her hair could do that, but then he kissed her again and she couldn’t think about anything beyond the tingles she felt from having his hands and his mouth on her. He was utterly in control and she didn’t care. So much of her sex life up until that moment had been unremarkable. She loved to cuddle, but the actual sex act hadn’t thrilled her or even meant much. She’d certainly never just given over to a man. Her high school boyfriends had been too shy, and Tom had never liked kissing much. Lara hadn’t minded because he’d been a little sloppy.

There was nothing sloppy about Connor. As he backed her against the cool metal wall of the elevator, he seized her in a slow, thorough melding of lips before he kissed his way over her cheeks, her forehead, and even the tip of her nose, as though he could explore her with his mouth.

“Open to me.” His words sizzled along her skin.

The minute she parted her lips the slightest bit, he was on her. His tongue surged in, sliding against hers in a way that made desire spark and her body shiver. Without even thinking about it, she pressed against his until she could feel the masculine part of him thicken
against her belly. He didn’t do the gentlemanly thing and pull back. No. Connor actually rubbed himself against her as if he couldn’t wait to get inside her.

She meant to do the ladylike thing and shove him away . . . except her hands seemed to have the same affliction as her nipples. Before Lara realized it, she’d wrapped his lean waist in her grip. Her left leg slid up his right. He gave a gentle tug on her hair and delved deep inside her mouth, his tongue dominating her.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she felt the elevator stop and heard the
ding
announcing the fact that they’d reached their destination, but it wasn’t until she heard Tom’s voice that she came out of her haze of lust.