He stared at her belly, emotion naked on his face.
Was she going to have this child and keep her from her father? No. She would never do that. It wasn’t fair to the child or to Mad. In fact, Sara would put up with a lot simply so her daughter had a relationship with her father.
She sighed. She and Mad did have things to work out. But she needed to make something clear to him.
“If you’re doing all of this to get me back, it won’t work. I’ll be civil with you for our daughter’s sake, but I’ll never love you again.” It was a total lie. She couldn’t not love the man in front of her. The sad truth was, she simply couldn’t trust him anymore. So they couldn’t share their lives the way she’d dreamed of. They couldn’t grow old together.
“Well, then all my work will be for nothing because, while we need to be civil, I also love you and I refuse to give up on us.” He let out a long breath. “Now, we have a nice kitchen and I made you cookies. Don’t get excited. They were break-and-bake, but they’re your favorite—peanut butter—and I also made them stock herbal teas I know you love. So let’s have a snack. I’ll rub your feet and tell you all about the exciting job we have ahead of us. We’re going to go through all of Joy’s old notebooks and a ton of press clips about her to figure out if or how she was involved in this conspiracy. Did I mention I was keeping ten years’ worth of her day planners just for you? We’re going to have so much fun.” He winked.
He was so damn charming when he wanted to be, and he knew exactly where her weaknesses lay. Peanut butter cookies for sure. Actually, she craved all things peanut butter even when she wasn’t pregnant. And damn it, how did Mad know her feet hurt? When she thought about it, he owed her one hell of a foot rub since he was responsible for her weight gain. And for all he’d put her through.
“Fine. I’ll take the foot rub. Maybe you could do my shoulders, too. But I’ve got a hard-core no-no zone, and it’s all your favorite parts. Take me to the cookies.”
The light was back in his eyes…and her heart threatened to melt. “All your parts are my favorites, and you have no idea what I could do to your toes. I’m incredibly creative. Not that I’m going to. These will be perfectly respectful fingers…for as long as you want them to be.”
He headed toward the back of their appointed prison, and Sara prayed they wouldn’t have to stay trapped together for long because being this near Mad might break her resistance—and her heart all over again.
* * * *
Three days later, Zack watched Elizabeth as she paced the Oval Office, staring down at her cell phone. She wore one of her power suits, this one a scarlet red. The skirt brushed halfway down her thighs and showed off those shapely legs that looked so damn good propped against his shoulders as he drove into her.
They’d been together for six days. In that time, he’d done his damnedest to make up for all the time together they’d lost. When they’d returned from Camp David to the White House, they’d had a brief argument about her living arrangements going forward. She’d actually thought she would go back to her apartment each night. Foolish woman. Of course she needed to keep it for appearance’s sake, but she wasn’t sleeping anywhere but beside him. He’d ended the argument by showing her just how soft and perfect for sex his presidential bed was.
He liked his new morning schedule. Wake at five thirty. Fuck Elizabeth. Six fifteen: shower with Elizabeth that would probably lead to fucking her again. Seven: breakfast with Elizabeth, and often with Gus and Roman. Seven thirty to midday: work. Noon: nooner with Elizabeth. Oh, and food…when they had time. Occasionally, he had to be flexible with lunches because he often played host to some congressional windbag or foreign dignitary, so he had to behave like a choir boy. Then, he often made do with a quickie in Elizabeth’s office where he shoved his face in her pussy or she sucked him off. Afternoons were the worst because she seemed to think she had to work and he should do the same, but when the day ended at six thirty, they hit the sheets and didn’t stop for more than a quick bite until they both fell asleep.
All in all, as long as no global skirmishes or natural disasters plagued him, it was a great schedule.
“Zack? Have you heard a word I’ve said?”
Nope, but he could guess what she was talking about. It was the only thing she’d talked about since they’d put their plan in motion. “The press is paying attention to the story about Joy and Roman in Capitol Scandals and you’re worried.”
When he’d put the gas pipeline on hold, he’d put the Russians on notice that he wouldn’t make any rash decisions. Now, he was letting the air out of their balloon, so to speak.
The first thing they had done was take care of the worst of their problems.
“Yes,” Elizabeth replied, standing in front of him, the Resolute desk between them. “Today it’s just a whisper because apparently someone assassinated the head of a large South American drug cartel and all his important underlings. Strangely enough, it’s the same man mentioned in the blackmailer’s letter, the one who threatened to come after Connor and Lara.”
“Well, now he can’t, so problem solved.” Zack didn’t see an issue since Connor had worked fast and clean. In fact, he was already on his way back to the States. When he returned, they could start a soft roll-out of the second part of their plan. “And he used sustainably sourced bullets so Lara can’t be too mad at him.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know. I made it up. Show me your breasts.” He picked up the phone and dialed his new favorite number. “Freddy, I need a blackout in the Oval.”
“Sure thing, Mr. President, and might I add I really like the bunker. I don’t know what Sara is complaining about. I think it’s awesome. And you’re dark,” Freddy said over the line.
Sometimes he worried letting Freddy squat in the bunker might mean he would become the phantom of the White House, but he wasn’t about to tell the man to move out. Freddy had immediately figured out how to handle the CCTV that followed Zack around. It had saved him from making many a sex tape in the last few days. “Give it about twenty minutes, then turn it back on. And I’ll make sure the juice boxes get resupplied.”
Freddy seemed to survive on a steady supply of beef jerky and apple juice. He wouldn’t want to be that man’s doctor, but he was more than happy to have him shut off the cameras so he could seduce Elizabeth.
He set the phone back down but Elizabeth’s gorgeous breasts were still secure behind her blouse.
“Zack, this is serious. You didn’t mention that you would be assassinating people.”
“He was a drug dealer also known for using slave labor to grow and harvest his product. I did the world a favor.” He wasn’t supposed to say that. “Or rather someone did. We can’t possibly know who it was. Come sit on my lap.”
She bit back a frustrated groan. “What else haven’t you told me? I knew about leaking the Roman/Joy story, and I know Gabe and Everly are in Moscow now. Will anything else be coming around to smack me in the face?”
“Only if you get on your knees, baby.” Getting her mouth on his cock would be an excellent way to start the afternoon. He had to meet with a group from the House this afternoon and listen to them harangue him about everything from infrastructure to world events. It would be boring as hell, and having the memory of Elizabeth’s mouth on him would make it all bearable.
“You are incorrigible, Zack.” She shook her head, but her lips curled up in the sweetest smile. “Is this what it’s like to be a woman in the Perfect Gentlemen’s inner circle? Always wondering what mischief y’all will cook up next?”
“Come here and I’ll show you.” He turned his chair so she could move in.
With a sigh, she skirted the desk and lowered herself to his lap. She cupped his cheeks. “I really can’t resist you, even when I know I should.”
She shouldn’t ever resist him because he couldn’t stand the thought of not having her. Now that she was in his bed and with him nearly twenty-four seven, he unde
rstood what a real partnership should be.
Except he was holding back from her. He wasn’t telling her everything.
“There’s no need to resist me. After all, I’m the president.” He drew her down and kissed her, loving that moment when their lips met. He’d never been a big fan of kissing before, but now he realized he’d treated all his other sexual relationships like they were part of his job. With Joy it had been almost required in the beginning, a way to procreate the two point five kids he needed to look good. Not that he wouldn’t have loved those kids, but it hadn’t happened for them. When they’d realized it probably wouldn’t, they’d stopped having sex altogether. And Zack hadn’t missed it that much. He’d certainly never wanted Joy the way he craved Elizabeth. He could spend hours simply kissing her and letting his hands roam her body.
“I have so many good reasons to resist you,” she said, laughing as he kissed her neck. “The staff is starting to gossip.”
“They’ve gossiped about us for years.” He couldn’t care less. He’d had far worse things said about him. He would take gossip about sleeping with the most beautiful woman on the planet any day.
“But then, they were always wrong,” she pointed out. “I have to think about how to handle the truth coming out so we get ahead of the story. There’s about to be a lot of relationship drama surrounding your administration, and I would like to douse those flames before they start a wildfire.”
She seemed determined to work, and Zack could only keep those cameras off for so long. He was going to have to multitask.
He got his hand on her knee and started working his way up. “You’re the press expert. How would you play our relationship if you weren’t in it?”
“Well, I would be pissed off for one thing,” she admitted.
She made him laugh. So few people had ever been able to make him forget all of his responsibilities and simply enjoy the moment, but it was hard not to when she was around. “Pretend we’re talking about someone else then. Not me, because I don’t want you to ever see me with another woman again. Not even in your head. So I’m this dumpy politician who somehow has managed to snag the hottest chick in his administration. I’m single and a famous widower. How do you manage the press around that relationship?”