Mad was so lucky. Oh, he was sure Sara wasn’t making anything easy on him, but at least Mad got to spend every moment with the woman he loved. No one forced him to spend countless hours apart from her in order to listen to congressmen complain and senators bark. Mad didn’t have to wait until after dark to hold her in his arms, feel his skin against hers.
He shouldn’t either.
Zack joined Elizabeth, smiling now that they were alone. “What’s your schedule like the rest of the day?”
“I’ve got to get ready for tomorrow’s briefing. I haven’t done one in a week, and the White House press pool is starting to circle like hungry sharks.” She glanced around and made certain they were alone with the exception of Thomas. “I’ve also put out some feelers to narrow down who we’ll trust to do Roman and Gus’s interview. The Times picked up the story today. Tomorrow it will be all over the morning shows.”
“I know. He does, too. We’re ready.”
“I don’t think we are. I’m worried that Paul Harding will go to the press himself with his own version of the truth.”
She’d mentioned Paul’s threats, but Zack wasn’t particularly worried about them. He wasn’t sure what Paul could say that hadn’t already been suggested, and they had a couple of excellent distractions if need be. He and Elizabeth dating would take over all the news cycles when they chose to come out of the shadows.
And at some point, Maddox Crawford’s rising from the grave would send the press into a tizzy, and nothing else would occupy the news for a good long while. They had time and resources to deal with Paul.
He took Elizabeth’s hand and headed for the hall. “Let’s have lunch in the residence today.”
Because he wanted to lay her out and make a meal of her.
“Zack, you’re not taking this seriously enough.” Her heels clicked across the floor as she hurried to keep pace with him. “He was genuinely angry. I think he meant everything he threatened. He’s been out of the game for a while, but he still has connections. He’ll use them against us if we don’t handle this right.”
Fine. She wanted to talk? He could do that. He stopped in the middle of the China Room and hauled her against his body, relishing the way her breasts flattened against his chest. “We’re following your plan.”
She was a bit breathless as she looked up at him. “And I still think it’s a good plan, but I didn’t think Joy’s father would come at us this hard. I’m worried what he’ll do.”
He brushed back her hair and leaned over to kiss her forehead. “Stop worrying. We’re going to follow your plan and everything will be fine. We’re so close to being virtually bulletproof. A few more moves, and they won’t be able to hurt us.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “Don’t be so cavalier. They can still come after you about shutting down the FAA report. And Gabe.”
“Ah, but if they do we’ve got the best piece of evidence of all. Gabe can’t have killed Mad and I can’t have covered for him because Mad’s not dead. See, soon they will have absolutely no more secrets to blackmail me with.” Nothing…except his identity.
But he couldn’t think about that now.
“Mr. President, a private, guided tour is about to walk through,” Thomas said, gesturing to the hall.
Damn it. The place had been shut down for self-guided tours today, but apparently someone, likely a bigwig, had scheduled a private gig. They did them so rarely. It was pure bad luck to have one moving through.
Still, if Zack let Elizabeth go now, he wouldn’t get her back until evening. That didn’t suit him at all.
He scanned the room and found what he was looking for—a door. “Thank you for the heads-up, Thomas. We’ll only be a few minutes.”
“Zack?” Elizabeth sounded startled as he hauled her into the closet. It was perfect. Dark and quiet, and with plenty of room. “What are you doing?”
“I’ve been a good boy all day. I’ve done everything you’ve asked me to do. Kiss me.” He fumbled on the wall for the light switch and turned it on. He wanted to see her.
Her eyes were wide. “You want me to kiss you? Here?”
“I’m the president of the United States and this is my house. I should explore it more thoroughly and often. This is a very nice closet, don’t you think? Now kiss me.”
“You know where that usually leads.”
God, he hoped so.
Zack flashed her a winning smile. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but he saw the moment she decided to capitulate. One second she was stiff. The next, she rose to her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his.
His entire body went hard, flashed hot. Every sense he possessed focused solely on her. The rest of the world fell away, and he was left with the best part of it.
He sank his hands in the silk of her hair and let himself kiss her the way he always hungered to. He devoured her. No matter how many times he had Elizabeth, he always wanted more. This need was what made his friends stop what they were doing anytime their wives walked in the room. This was true passion. It made him feel young and vital and alive, maybe for the first time in his life.
He skimmed his palms down Elizabeth’s curves, cursing the material between them, but he had to make do.
“Zack, if we’re going to do this we should go to your room,” she whispered.
“No time.” He wanted her too badly to stop.
“But there’s a tour coming through.”
“Then you’ll have to be very quiet, won’t you? I know how hard it is for you not to shout out my name during orgasm, but you’ll have to find a way to stay silent while I make you come.”
“Zack…”
He stifled whatever protest she might have made with a long, slow kiss. He tangled his tongue with hers. She kissed him back, her hands splayed across his back. If he hadn’t been wearing a suitcoat, he would have felt the drag of her nails on his skin.
When Elizabeth went wild, she didn’t hold back. The morning after they’d first made love, she’d been horrified that she’d marked him, but he’d spent the whole day reveling in the slight scratches her nails had left on his skin. Each little pain reminded him that he was the man who had driven her past her usual reason and decorum. No one else.
The closet they found themselves in now was really more of a small workroom, likely where they stored china that wasn’t on display. It had a nice, sturdy table that looked to be the perfect height. He picked her up, lifting her body against his. In two steps, he set her down right where he wanted her because he knew how to make her hot for him in quick order.
“What are you—”
“We’ve reached a particularly lovely section of the White House,” a feminine voice said, proving that door between them wasn’t soundproof.
Elizabeth gasped as he shoved her skirt up, wearing his most mischievous grin.
“Quiet,” he whispered against her lips. “You can’t make a sound—not a pant, not a whimper, not a moan—or they’re going to wonder what’s happening in here. Do you want to give those people a real backstage tour of what happens in the White House?”
“No.” She breathed out, and in the low light, he saw her eyes flare with heat.
Zack hooked his fingers under the sides of her lacy underwear. “Lift up for me.”
r /> She did as he asked, raising her pelvis up so he could pull those panties right off her. He caressed the silky smooth skin of her long, shapely legs. He loved to kiss every inch of them as he worked his way up to his favorite part of her body.
The woman leading the tour went on about Lincoln’s pattern, but Zack couldn’t care less what was happening outside this small room.
“I could tell them what the real secret gem of this place is.” He dropped to his knees and spread her legs. He could already smell her arousal, and it made his cock stiffen and ache. “There’s one thing that can make the president do anything. We should explore that. Have I mentioned how much I love these shoes?”
She was wearing purple stilettos today. They elongated her legs, and the sharp, pointed toes did something for him. He couldn’t explain why, but they were infinitely sexy.
“I’m glad you find me acceptable, Mr. President.”
He could barely hear her, but the words sent a thrill through him. “Going to play it that way, huh? Fine. You’re more than acceptable. You’re stunning. Do you have any idea what these fuck-me shoes do to me? Do you know how much I love to see you in nothing?”
“I don’t wear them for you. They’re for me. They make me feel strong.”
He needed to make something plain to her. Well, first he needed to kiss her knees and work his lips up her thighs because the spicy scent of her arousal was luring him exactly where he wanted to be. “You don’t need a pair of shoes to be strong. You’re incredibly smart and resilient, and you’re every bit as gorgeous as I dreamed you to be. Do you have any idea how many nights I spent lying awake and thinking about you like this? Fuck the nights. I spent the days that way, too. It’s very distracting to be in a meeting with the British prime minister and get a massive erection because you walked into the room. I don’t want to merely fantasize anymore. I want to have you whenever I want you. If I want you in the middle of a meeting, I should be able to get up, find the nearest private space, and lay you out. I wouldn’t let you up until I’m satisfied. Then maybe I’d be able to think straight for a little while. You ruin my concentration.”