AT THE PLEASURE OF THE PRESIDENT
The first time he’d touched her, really touched her, she’d flinched.
More from the shock of it all than anything else. Because you didn’t flinch when you wanted to be touched again.
And, God help her, she desperately wanted that.
As if he could read her mind, Jack looked up from his phone and caught Olivia staring at him. She should’ve looked away, but he held her gaze with such intensity that she couldn’t move. Heat crawled up the back of her neck and traveled to her face. Arousal spread everywhere else.
“Is there anything else you need?” a voice asked in the background.
I need him, the voice in her head answered.
“President Vargas?”
Reluctantly, she tore her eyes away from Jack’s and turned toward Alicia, her chief of staff.
“No, thank you. I’ve kept you way too late as it is. Go back to your hotel room and get a good night’s sleep. What time are we meeting in the lobby again?”
Alicia stood up from the couch and gathered her things. “Six. We want to get back to town by seven when the polls open.”
Olivia nodded. She couldn’t believe the election was only hours away now. To say the road to get to this point had been difficult would be a ridiculous understatement. It all seemed so surreal that she, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, was running for her second term as president. Needless to say, she’d been criticized and analyzed on everything from her foreign policy to her shade of lipstick. But she’d survived.
What she hadn’t overcome yet was this silly new attraction to Jack.
When they’d first met eight years ago, she’d been married to David. Then, after David had died, she’d been the leader of the free world.
America’s first female president couldn’t have crushes. Or urges. Her first term had been all about proving herself capable. Her second term—if she had a second term after tomorrow’s results— would be about getting things done. There was no time for long looks or butterflies in her stomach. Especially not because of him.
Not that Jack had ever given her a reason to think there were flying insects in his organs because of her either. He’d always maintained a professional distance. He was friendly, but not too friendly. He only hugged her or held her hand when the occasion called for it—like at David’s funeral. That’s not to say he lived as a monk. There were whispers among the staff and an occasional article in a gossip magazine. But it was never a topic of discussion between them. That would’ve been too personal. They were colleagues. Nothing more.
Until North Carolina.
It was the last of the rallies in the state. She’d been walking down the stairs at the back of the ballroom stage when her ankle twisted on the last step and she literally fell into his arms. He was all hard chest and biceps, and it took her a few seconds to regain her balance because she was too busy enjoying the physical contact. The rest of her team had already turned the corner and hadn’t yet noticed they weren’t behind them.
“I got you,” he’d said. But his sultry tone hinted there was something more underneath the words.
“I know,” she’d replied without thinking.
He’d smiled at that before his expression changed. He searched her eyes and then her lips before dropping to where her breasts were crushed against his torso. And then the hands that held her waist squeezed tighter.
Over the last two weeks, something had definitely changed between them. At least, it had changed for her. When he sat next to her in meetings, she couldn’t concentrate on anything but his cologne and trying to identify the spice behind the alluring scent of it. Of him. When he passed her papers or even a cup of coffee, she swore his fingers lingered on hers seconds more than necessary.
“Jack, are you coming?” Alicia’s voice brought her back to the present again.
He cast a quick look at Olivia and then answered, “Yeah. I’m just responding to a few emails. You go on ahead. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Her heart rate quickened at the thought of being alone with him if even for just a few minutes. Maybe that was the point of him staying behind? Nervous energy made her jump to her feet and follow Alicia to the foyer of the hotel suite.
“Gracias, mi amiga. Whatever happens, I’ll always be grateful to you,” she said as she leaned in to give the other woman a quick hug.
Alicia smiled when they broke apart and grabbed her hands. “You’re welcome, President . . . Olivia. It’s been my pleasure to be a part of your team, and I’m looking forward to continuing to serve another four years.”
She squeezed her friend’s hands in appreciation. “You’re sweet to be so optimistic. But we both know what the polls are saying. America doesn’t seem to want a single woman for president.”
“I thought you never listened to polls? Besides, you’ve been a single woman for the past two years and the country is thriving. You are going to win tomorrow. I can feel it.”
They hugged again before Olivia unlocked the door to let her out. Her security detail immediately came to attention.
“Everything okay, Madam President?” the lead agent asked.
“Yes, everything is fine. Ms. Chavez is just retiring for the evening.”
That put them at ease. Olivia closed the door and locked it. Then she took a deep breath before going back to Jack.
He still sat on the sofa in the suite’s small living room typing away on his laptop. He really was responding to emails.
Heat flushed her cheeks again, but not from lust this time. Why on earth had she thought he’d made an excuse to be alone with her? Embarrassment brought her wild heart to a stop. Jack Walker hadn’t been flirting with her these past two weeks. She had simply misinterpreted the extra attention. They’d both been in campaign mode and, of course, it had drawn them closer. He probably thought that now that she was a widow she’d needed the extra hand-holding.
For such a smart woman, she’d been pretty dumb.
Eres tonta.
Olivia busied herself with tidying up the sitting area after Jack insisted he didn’t need her help with the emails. Ten minutes later, it was his turn to head to the door.
“Do you think you’ll get any sleep tonight?” he asked as she reached to undo the chain.
That made her stop. She shrugged. “Probably not. But I guess I should try. What about you?”
“Same.” He smiled and took a step closer.
Olivia willed the butterflies to settle down. “Well, no matter what happens, I feel good about the campaign we ran.”
“Me too.” Another smile. Another step.
They were almost touching now. She tried to control her breathing. And her heart.
Stop it, Olivia. You’re not some silly schoolgirl. Say good night and send him away.
“Well, like I told Alicia, whatever happens, I’ll always be grateful.”
She closed the distance between them to give him a quick hug as well. But when she tried to pull away after a second, he wouldn’t let her go.
“Whatever happens . . .” he repeated.
Desire overwhelmed her, and she had to grip his arms to steady herself. Oxygen must have stopped flowing to her brain because that could be the only reason why she did what she did next. Olivia lifted her head and kissed Jack’s left cheek.
His raised eyebrows told her she had surprised him. But it was her turn to be surprised when he returned the kiss . . . on her mouth.
The election, the world, the universe were all forgotten. The only things Olivia could focus on were Jack’s lips on hers. They were soft and warm and dotted with trickles of the champagne they’d toasted with earlier. And they didn’t just reawaken her slumbering libido—they brought it back to life.
The kiss only lasted a few seconds. Yet she knew instantly she wanted another.
Jack, on the other hand, didn’t look like he knew anything. He took a step back and dragged a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. He shook his head and stared at the ground. “Damn it. I’m so sorry, Olivia. I shouldn’t have done that.”
His regret cooled her desire a few degrees, but she refused to be embarrassed this time. “Don’t apologize. I kissed you back, didn’t I?”
His head shot back up to look at her. “So what do we do now?”
Hundreds of answers ran through Olivia’s head. He probably expected her to tell him that they should forget about what had happened. That they should go on pretending they both didn’t want something more from each other. Because any earlier doubts of their mutual attraction had been erased with that kiss.
That emboldened her.
“Tomorrow could change so many things,” she said as she met his eyes. “My fate—my future—rests in everyone else’s hands but mine. Tonight, for once, I’d like to make my own choices.”
Jack took her hand. “And what do you choose?”
She smiled and stepped closer to him. “You. For one night. Let’s forget who we are and what we do. For tonight only, I’m just Olivia.”
He nodded in understanding. “And I’m just Jack—a man who would do anything to kiss you again.”
Instinctively, she licked her lips. That was all the permission he needed. Jack pulled her toward him, letting go of her hand to cup her face. Their mouths fused together once again. But this time, the kiss wasn’t timid or unsure. It was frantic.
Frenzied.
A moan escaped her, allowing Jack’s tongue to seek entry and dance with hers. Lust flared from deep within her core. Olivia grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket, desperate to be closer to him. In return, he pressed his body against hers, his need evident even through the layers of their clothes.
“I want you, Olivia,” he groaned as he moved to nip her jaw.
“Yes,” she sighed. “I want you too. So bad.”
Jack stopped and lifted his head to meet her eyes. “Are you sure? If someone found out . . .”
She already knew what he was going to say so she pressed her finger against his lips. She didn’t want to think about repercussions or consequences. She didn’t want to think at all.
Olivia only wanted to feel.
“My choice, remember?” she said.
He nodded and grabbed her hand. She led them to her bedroom in the hotel suite, stopping just inside the doorway. He began kissing her again, softly and hesitantly. As if he knew just how scared she was despite her words.
It wasn’t that she’d never had sex before, obviously. She and David had been married for nearly sixteen years. But they’d stopped sleeping together, literally and figuratively, for five of them even before he got sick. To his credit, he’d refrained from his extracurricular activities as soon as she was elected. Or at least he’d been more discreet about it. And she’d been way too busy—and way too paranoid—to even think about having sex with another man while she was still married.
Olivia wasn’t just having a dry spell: she was having a dry era.
That’s why she was responding so intensely to Jack’s touch. At least, that’s what she was telling herself as his deeper kisses made her nipples strain against her bra and liquid desire pool between her thighs.
“I want to touch you,” she admitted when he let her take a breath.
Jake studied her face for a moment before reaching out to caress her cheek with his thumb. “Do you know how fucking sexy you are?”
“No,” she said truthfully. Sexy wasn’t exactly a word she’d ever used to describe herself. Especially not during a debate or in an interview with The Washington Post. Not that she purposefully tried to hide her femininity. It was just better for everyone if her, um, assets weren’t a distraction. During her first year in office, she accidentally wore a sleeveless dress during the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn. Fox News basically accused her of being a stripper. Since then her wardrobe consisted of sensible pantsuits, skirts that fell on or below the knee, and mother-of-the-bride evening gowns.
He didn’t laugh at her admission. Instead, he looked at her earnestly and said, “Well, you are.”
That’s when it hit her. In that moment, Jack wasn’t thinking of her as the president. She was a woman he wanted to have sex with. And that thrilled her more than anything had in a very long time.
Olivia stepped back. Slowly and deliberately, she began to undress. First she unzipped her navy-blue skirt and let it fall to the ground. Next came her crème-colored silk blouse and nude stockings. He stopped her before she could slide out of her full slip and bra.
“Let me help you,” he said, his eyes dark with desire.
He hooked his fingers in both straps and pulled them off her shoulders. She gasped as he lowered his head and swiped his tongue over the curve of her cleavage. Hands cupped both breasts, kneading and caressing them and eliciting throaty moans she never knew she could utter. With one deft move, he yanked everything down and caught one taut nipple with his mouth.
“Jack!” she cried out.
He continued sucking and licking as his hands moved to her backside. She was quickly spinning out of control. And she didn’t care one bit.
“Do you know how many times I’ve dreamt about doing this?” he said after a few minutes.
When she shook her head, he answered his own question. “Thousands.”
That admission startled her. “Really?”
Jack crooked an eyebrow. “Yes, really. You’re beautiful, Olivia. And not just your body. Your mind, your spirit, your fierceness. I swear every time you give a speech, I get a hard-on.”
That made her laugh, and then she kissed him for all of his lovely words that made her feel so good. So desired.
“Well, you’re pretty amazing too. But I don’t think it’s fair that you’re still wearing clothes.”
“Then take them off me.”
Olivia went to work doing just that. His red tie, suit jacket, and white shirt were gone in seconds. She couldn’t help but run both of her hands down his hard, bare chest, reveling in its solidness. He sighed and threw his head back. “That feels so good.”
“And what about this?” she asked before licking one of his nipples.
Jack swore to God and every other deity. Knowing that she did that to him only revved up her need even more. She wanted to do it again. And again. And again.
But as she began to mark a trail with her tongue down to his navel, he stopped her and brought her back up to face him. “As much as I would fucking love for you to suck me off, tonight is all about your pleasure.”
When she opened her mouth to protest, he silenced her with another searing kiss. As their tongues reacquainted themselves, he guided her toward the bed. Olivia sat on the edge and watched with anticipation as he undid his belt. He took his wallet from his pants pocket and revealed a wrapped condom. Although she wanted to ask, she kept quiet and waited patiently until he was fully naked in front of her. His cock was thick and long—a beautiful sight to behold indeed.
“Lie down,” he said.
Olivia gladly obeyed, thinking he would be inside her soon. But Jack had other plans.
With both hands he opened her to him. First he kissed the inside of each thigh. It was sweet torture that only escalated her desire. He blew a slow breath over her heated sex as she clutched at the comforter for dear life. She knew she was about to fall—so, so hard. Olivia propped herself on her elbows to get a better view of what he was doing, but as soon as Jack’s tongue slid over her tight clit, she collapsed in ecstasy. “Dios mio,” she said on a strangled groan.
Her thighs trembled every time his hair brushed against them. It was almost too much. Almost. And when he sank his tongue deep inside her, Olivia squeezed her eyes and prepared for an eruption of seismic proportions.
“I’m going to come already. I’m coming, I’m coming.”
Each desperate pant increased in volume, and she knew her orgasm wouldn’t arrive quietly. But a scream would send a team of agents barreling through the door, and she couldn’t have that.
So she covered her mouth with her own hand just as the explosion ripped from her body.
She was still reeling from tiny aftershocks when she realized Jack was on top of her. Then he was slowly sinking into her slick heat inch by inch. Pain tempered with pleasure passed through her body as it stretched to let him in.
“Are you okay?” he whispered over her face.
Olivia was more than okay. She was in heaven. “Yes,” she whispered back.
He kissed her as he pulled out and pushed back inside. “It’s going to be quick because I can’t wait any longer and you’re so fucking tight,” he said gruffly. “But I promise the next time I’ll make it last.”
She nodded and lifted her hips up so he could penetrate her fully. It was the most amazing feeling in the world. That is, until he started thrusting into her rough and fast.
“Yes, like that. Harder. Don’t stop,” she said in between gasps.
They rocked and rolled in unison, their bodies slapping together in an erotic rhythm. He kissed her one more time before moving to his knees. With one leg hooked over his arm, he was able to reach the spot deep inside that spurred a second release from out of nowhere.
Her body arched. Her toes curled.
“That’s it. Come with me, Olivia,” Jack grunted before stilling on top of her as his own orgasm hit.
It took several minutes before either of them could talk. Gratification rolled through her veins like a new addictive drug, and she doubted she would be able to walk anytime soon. Jack eventually moved and pulled her to his chest.
“I knew it would be amazing,” he said, caressing her arm with his fingers.
“Thank you.” It was the only thing she could think to say.
He twisted to his side so he could face her. “What for?”
“For making me believe that I deserve pleasure like this.”
“Of course you deserve it. I should be thanking you for letting me give it to you.”
She smiled. “Well, then, you’re most welcome.”
Jack left sometime after one in the morning. As promised, their round two had been more drawn out and he’d been as attentive as before. Sleep came easily as Olivia was both physically and mentally exhausted. It took her two snoozes on her phone’s alarm before she dragged herself into the shower. The hot water woke her up fully, as did the memories of Jack’s kisses. She smiled even as she washed away his scent because she knew the images of what they’d done together would live forever in her mind.
Her hair and makeup team arrived just after five, and for an hour she was preoccupied with getting ready for what would be a very, very long day. She arrived on time to the hotel lobby and was quickly greeted by Alicia and a cup of coffee.
“You look refreshed,” she said with a big smile.
Olivia choked on her first sip. “I do?”
Alicia nodded fervently. Olivia thought about it for a second and realized there was no harm is being a little truthful. “Well, I guess I do feel a little rejuvenated in a way.”
“I’m so glad,” Alicia said, looking at her phone. “The cars are right outside. We’re just waiting for the vice president and his staff.”
Olivia took a gulp of her coffee just as a rumble of voices approached. Alicia glanced up and announced, “Right on time. Good morning, Mr. Vice President.”
Jack offered them both a wide smile. “Yes, it’s a very good morning indeed.”
Alicia beamed and threw up her arms. “I’m loving the positive vibes from you both. It’s a good sign. Now, let’s go vote for you two, shall we?”
Olivia and Jack exchanged sly smiles as they headed to the hotel’s double doors.
“After you, Madam President,” he said, and held them open for her.
“Thank you, Vice President Walker. You’re so kind,” she said.
He shrugged as she walked by. “You know me. It’s always my pleasure to be of service to you any way I can.”
“Oh, I do know,” she said under her breath.
She immediately began planning the next time she could call on Jack for his special type of secret service.