The Perfect Candidate (40 page)

“It’
s DONE now, Ashley,
”
Michael growled, conscious that the car was slowing down to a stop.  He glanced out of the window, and so missed the deeply pained look that flashed across Ashley
’
s face.  She did still look thoroughly unhappy when he glanced back at her though. 
“
Smile,
”
he muttered, as the door was thrown open for them.

Michael forced himself to smile too.  He hoped that no one would be able to tell that he was faking.  He had got quite good at feigning a happy expression when he was feeling far from happy during the election campaign.  He had never imagination that it would come in handy for quite this reason though!

The reception ticked by in the same strange way as the wedding ceremony.  Michael was very unaware of time.  He was very unaware of other people too.  He simply wanted to keep Ashley close until they could get away and talk- for fear that she still might somehow find a way to bolt. 

Michael was introduced to his in-laws, and to some of Ashley
’
s friends.  He in turn managed to introduce her to some of his family.  He was sure that he didn
’
t do any of the introductions justice, but he hoped people would make excuses if he were behaving too distractedly.

They heard speeches that Michael didn
’
t really listen to and were served food that he didn
’
t eat, but then they were asked to open up the dancing
…
and Michael couldn
’
t help but be a little moved by the song that was chosen,
How Do I Live
, sung by Kelly Clarkson.  He didn
’
t have a clue which of the organizers had picked it out (Ashley?  He prayed that it had been Ashley), but they had hit the nail right on the head.

They didn
’
t speak as they moved around the floor.  It was enough for Michael just to hold her-
his wife
.  The label still gave him a guilty thrill.  She felt so
right
in his arms.  Surely she had to feel it too?  He couldn
’
t be imagining this connection, could he?

Ashley was looking a little more relaxed at least!  Michael wasn
’
t sure if that was due to anything he had done to set her at ease or the rather large quantity of alcohol she had consumed on an empty stomach?  He feared the latter, but was secretly a little glad all the same.  She
looked
more like a bride at the moment at least.

Even so, Michael was eager to leave the reception, and not
only
for the reason insinuated by many of the male guests!  He wanted to get Ashley away from Norman. 
He
wanted to get away from Norman when it came down to it!  Michael had managed to avoid being caught alone by his campaign manager so far, but he could see that Norman was
dying
to talk to him, and he couldn
’
t go on hiding from him for the rest of the night.  He needed to sort out in his own mind what was happening between himself and Ashley before he even thought about talking to the other man however.

“Are you ready to go?” Michael asked Ashley at the very earliest moment that he thought leaving was feasible.

A look of panic flashed across Ashley
’
s face. 
“
Oh but- don
’
t we need to stay until- um- until-?
”

“Until?” Michael echoed her.  A smile actually tugged at the corner of his mouth.  He raised an eyebrow at her when she couldn’
t answer his question.

“Well, I need to thank my parents, and Cat and Stacy, and-”

“Your parents will pass on your thanks I’
m sure,
”
Michael said smoothly, guiding her over to Mr. and Mrs. Kendall.

“Oh!  I need to toss my bouquet too!” Ashley gasped, and then flushed under Michael’
s stare.  Frankly, he hadn
’
t thought that she would care about such traditions
…
not when he thought the whole wedding had been something she had been forced into... 
“
Well, I
’
ve never been married before,
”
she muttered.

And she wouldn
’
t ever get married again, not if he had any say in the matter,
Michael thought to himself savagely.

The tossing of the bouquet of course caught everyone
’
s attention, so it took far longer than Michael would have liked to get away, but eventually they managed it.  Stepping out into the cool night air, Ashley looked up at him warily.

“Where are we going now?”

“The Drake,” he said, unable to entirely suppress a grin when he saw her impressed amazement.

“We have reservations at the Drake Hotel?” she gasped.  “But- but
how?
  I don
’
t remember-
”

“It doesn’
t matter how,
”
Michael said gently, steering Ashley towards their waiting car.  He didn
’
t really want to go into all of the
‘
fake
’
organizing that had gone into their supposedly
‘
fake
’
wedding.  It was all real now and that was what he wanted Ashley to concentrate on. 

Michael
was
just a little bit satisfied that he had managed to convince Norman that they needed to book the Presidential suite at the Drake though, even if he had never originally thought that he would get any use out of the room.  It would have looked very strange if the papers had discovered that he hadn
’
t had anything arranged for the wedding night.

Michael gave his head a shake.  Now
he
was dwelling on what
should
have happened today instead of what
had
happened!

“Is something wrong?” Ashley asked anxiously, and then she flushed guiltily.  “I mean- apart from-” she stumbled over the words.  “Oh dear,” she said weakly.

Michael leant forwards and dabbed a surprise kiss against his wife
’
s lips. 
“
Stop looking so scared,
”
he whispered.

“But I- but aren’
t you
furious?
”
she whispered, looking so delightfully muddled that Michael wanted to lean towards her again, and steal a proper kiss this time.

“Do I look furious?” he sighed, edging closer.

“Well, no… but-”

But Michael didn
’
t let Ashley say another word.  He placed a hand gently on either side of her head and guided her lips back to his mouth.  She gasped, opening herself to Michael and his talented tongue.  He explored her mouth with a lazy thoroughness born from the realization that he had the rest of his life to indulge himself in learning the secrets of Ashley
’
s body
…
well,
if
he could convince her that she wanted to stay married to him.

“Michael?”

“Ashley?” he chuckled.  “We’
re almost there,
”
he murmured, sitting back in the deep leather seat instead of kissing her again, but he did keep her clasp tightly against his side. 

The burst of cold air that had hit them as they walked from inside reception venue out to the car seemed to have sobered Ashley up, Michael realized.  He hoped that a few more kisses might manage to relax her again though, because he certainly wasn
’
t planning on sleeping alone on his wedding night- no matter how the actual wedding might had come about!  Fortunately, he could feel her slowly start to soften and mould herself against him.

They arrived at the hotel and checked in, even Michael confessed that he was impressed by the opulence of the building.

“You’
ve never stayed here before either?
”
Ashley asked quietly, as they were shown up to their suite.

“I’
ve never needed to use a hotel this close to home before,
”
he admitted with a shrug, as they stopped outside their room.  Michael tipped the young man who had shown them up, and then turned to Ashley with a cheeky smile.

“What is it-?” she started to ask, but the end of question was punctuated by a squeal as Michael lifted her up into his arms.

“Tradition,” he murmured to excuse his own sentimentality, as he carried Ashley over the threshold and into the room beyond.  If she had been allowed to toss her bouquet then he was certainly allowed to do this!

Ashley gasped when she saw the size of the suite on the other size of the door.  She could live in a place this size!  She would have quite liked to explore, but Michael seemed to only have one destination in mind- the bedroom.  He placed Ashley down on the huge king size bed and stared down at her with hungry eyes.

Ashley licked her lips uncertainly.  She didn
’
t understand what was going on!  Why wasn
’
t Michael angry?  Why wasn
’
t he yelling at her, demanding an explanation for her actions, instead of looking at her as though- well, as though he was imagining her undressed?

Perhaps it wasn
’
t such a big deal for him,
Ashley wondered unhappily?
 
He hardly held the state of marriage in particularly high regard, not judging by his first two marriages at any rate.  Maybe he thought this would help his campaign even more than the jilting would have done?  And so maybe, just maybe, he was just determined to get his use out of her while it lasted?

Why that last thought sent pangs of lust coursing through her body, rather than shivers of disgust, Ashley didn
’
t want to know. She was busy working out how to turn these theories around to her advantage.  Clearly, Michael wasn
’
t about to toss her out onto the street, so perhaps she would have time to demonstrate the advantages of being married to her?