The Sweet Thief

by Temple Madison

  Chapter Ten

  Meanwhile, back at the White House—

  That evening Griff stepped into Lorelei’s bedroom. “Lorelei, about what happened earlier today with Regis and the security chief... well, I don’t know what you think, but I didn’t let those bastards loose on you.”

  She turned to Griff, a somber look on her face. “Do you honestly think I’d be stupid enough to believe anything you say? We’re through, Griff. It’s as simple as that. Keep your pitiful excuses to yourself. I’m tired, and I don’t feel like discussing it.”

  “No excuses. I just wanted you to know that I think you’ve been doing a hell of a job sitting in for me these past weeks.”

  “I don’t care what you think,” Lorelei commented with indifference.

  “I just thought...”

  Before he could finish, she walked over to him and began pushing him out the door. “Get out. I have to go to bed.”

  He stopped at the threshold and looked down at her. “What I had in mind exactly, only together.”

  She looked up, meeting his gaze. “Why? Your girlfriend have a headache?”

  “Lorelei, you know why.”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t.”

  “Well, it gets lonely. Don’t you think?”

  “Griff Nyle lonely? Griff, you’ll never be lonely. You can get a bed partner anytime you want one... except here.” She turned, walked to the bed and gently loosened the ties on her robe.

  She allowed it to slide down her arms slowly and in an enticing manner.

  Thinking that was a good sign, Griff stepped back in and closed the door behind him. His gaze traveled over her as she stood there in a beautiful white sheer gown that invited his eyes to feast on her body. He could see every inch, every smooth gorgeous curve that was softened by the sheer material.

  Oh God! He felt himself getting aroused. She’s been here since the beginning, just waiting for me. Why has it taken me so long to see her?

  He walked slowly toward her, gently took her in his arms, lowered his head, and allowed his lips to play along the soft curve of her perfumed neck. He blew warm breaths over her skin as he slowly worked his way down into her warm, firm cleavage. Her hands circled his neck as she pressed her magnificent body against his. He could feel every line, every curve, and it drove him wild. He wanted to lay her down and get inside her so bad, even his bones ached.

  * * * *

  Bad girl that she was, Lorelei knew when he had reached his highest peak of sexual excitement and quickly pulled away. While she had him unbalanced, she turned him around and pushed him toward the door, opened it and shoved him through it. She stood there—no hangover passion, no bruised lips, nothing to indicate to anyone that she was excited—with her hand on her hip. “Did you think for one small minute that I did all that to show you what you’re getting?” She gave a derisive chuckle. “Oh, no, Griff. That hot little session was to show you what you’re not getting.”

  He stood speechless as the door slammed in his face. “Wha... you mean... my god, Lorelei, don’t do this. What will it take? What do you want me to say? Just tell me.”

  Lorelei stood listening through the closed door for those three little words. Instead, he came up with the most ridiculous statement she’d ever heard in her life.

  “Lorelei, have mercy for god’s sake. Last night I had a dream so boring that if I hadn’t already been asleep, it would have put me to sleep.”

  She kicked the door hard.

  Another genius idea for wanting to sleep with me. Damn! Will the man ever learn?

  * * * *

  Senator Bliss, knowing Griff was there alone, had dropped by the White House. Lorelei was attending a dinner to welcome home a foreign diplomat and his wife and to get a report on how the peace talks went.

  “Griff,” Senator Bliss said, thoughtfully. “Have you given any thought to reelection?”

  “It’s a little early, isn’t it?”

  “It’s never too early, son. I would advise you get used to the idea and begin making preparations.”

  “I have other things on my mind.”

  The senator knew he would have to put a sexual slant on the conversation, or Griff would never listen to him. “How’re you and Lorelei getting along?”

  “She won’t let me touch her.”

  “Then you’d better get used to goin’ without for whatever’s left of these four years.”

  He flicked his cigar. “And four more, if you get reelected.”

  “My god,” Griff said, sitting up. “I hadn’t thought of that.” He looked at the senator with a worried look on his face. “I won’t be able to last. I’ll bust a freakin’ gut!”

  “Where the hell’s all that Griff Nyle charm? You used it on other women, why not your wife?”

  “Are you out of your ever-lovin’ mind? Waste perfectly good charm on that foul-mouthed redhead? I’d die first.”

  Just then, the senator noticed Griff glancing toward the door and looked around. “Hello there, sweetheart.”

  “Hi, Daddy,” Lorelei said as she walked up and kissed him on the cheek. “What brings you to this snake pit?”

  “Nothing, really. Just passin’ by. By the way, don’t forget your appearance at the Pentagon tomorrow. Nothin’ much, just a little speech in the Courtyard at eleven.”

  “Is Regis Strand going to be there?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then I’m not goin’.”

  “But, honey, you’re expected.”

  “Griff can do it.”

  “But he’s still recup...”

  “Recuperating, hell,” she said. “He’s as strong as I am.”

  “Now wait just a minute there,” Griff said. “I think I know my body better than anybody else.”

  “You and any female under fifty-five that’s not on a respirator,” she spat out.

  The senator slid his eyes over to Griff, put his forefinger in his mouth, then sliced it through the air, giving her the point.

  “Senator,” Griff said, his eyes sending the white-haired man a message, “I wonder if I could speak to Lorelei alone.”

  “Of course, son. I need to head on back anyway.” He turned and gave Lorelei a little peck on the cheek.

  * * * *

  Once the door shut, Lorelei saw Griff looking at her.

  “We need to talk, Lorelei.”

  “So talk,” she said, kicking off her shoes and slumping down in a chair.

  “I’d like to declare a truce, come to some kind of understanding or agreement. This is going to be a long four years, and maybe longer if I’m reelected. Since we have to live together, we might as well make it as bearable as possible.”

  Lorelei had been rubbing her painful feet. Curious, she lifted her eyes and frowned at him. “Spit it out, Griff. What are you trying to say?”

  “I’m saying that as long as we’re living in this fishbowl, it’s impossible to... I mean, seven more years is a long time without...” He took a deep breath. “Lorelei, I’d like you to move into my bedroom.”

  Lorelei’s hand stilled, her mouth dropped open, and for the first time, she was speechless. When she found her voice, she said, “For what purpose? Surely you don’t mean—”

  “Of course, sex...”

  “Oh, sex. It’s not making love you want, just sex. That must be why it sounds like something you’re ordering from a restaurant menu. I’ll take some chicken fried steak, hominy grits, mashed potatoes, and, oh, yes, sex. That’ll be all.” She got up and strode toward him in her bare feet. “You know what you are, Griff Nyle? You’re a snake that somehow got up off its belly and started walking around.” Her anger made her pace in circles as she glared at him. “You expect me to just fall in your arms, don’t you? You think all you have to do is ask, and I’ll come running. God, what an arrogant ass you are. If I were any other woman, you’d send flowers, gifts, candy. But for me, you—”

  “I’m your husband, goddamn it. I have certain rights.”

  “
Rights? Is that what this is all about?” She leaned over him with her hands on her hips. “I remember a honeymoon where I had rights. I remember a marriage where I had rights! I was a wife, a partner, a First Lady, a friggin’ stooge who stood at your side and watched as you ogled every woman in the place. In all those roles, I had rights, Griff. Did it change things? Hell no! I’m nothing to you but a piece of meat. I can’t think, reason, plan, or make my own decisions. Hell, I don’t even have sense enough to know if I’m hungry or thirsty. All I can do is be at the disposal of the great and wonderful Griff Nyle. Well, fuck you!”

  She turned and resumed pacing. “Okay, so let’s look at this...” She kept her voice dripping with sarcasm as her gaze slid toward him. “Proposition. Without a kiss, a caress, or even a few whispered words of love, you’ve calmly, unemotionally, and unromantically laid it all out like a business deal. And mincing no words, you’ve told me exactly what you want.” She stopped pacing, narrowed her eyes on his arrogant, handsome face and continued with a bitter voice. “Okay, good enough. But here’s what I want.” She widened her stance, put her hands on her hips and began yelling, her hair bouncing around as she tossed her head back and forth. “I want your goddamned head on a platter! I want you drawn and quartered and sold for spit! I want your cock cut off and placed in the Male Chauvinist Pigs’ Hall of Fame!”

  “My god, Lorelei, you’re raving. All I asked for is a little—”

  “All you want from me, Griff Nyle, is my body. It’s all you want from any woman.” She gave her backside a sexy little slap. “A little fuck, a release, and maybe a little relief from the pain.”

  “Is that so—”

  “Yes!” she yelled back at him before he finished. “My god, when I think of the nights, the days, the minutes, the hours I’ve cried because I knew you didn’t love me, and now—my god, Griff, you’re treatin’ me no better than a goddamned whore. I have a feelin’ that once we get in bed, you’ll do a quick wham-bam, thank-you-ma’am on me, then turn over and go to sleep!”

  “Lorelei, how many times do I have to say it? We’re married, for god’s sake. It’s—”

  “We were married in Hawaii, you bastard. We were married the night you got elected, then later at the restaurant in Alexandria. We were also married the night of the party, but it didn’t seem to make any difference then. Well, I’ve got news for you, Mister President. If it didn’t matter then, it doesn’t matter now. Get this through your thick head, you big blob of male hormones. This is not a marriage, it’s an arrangement. I’ve been stuck with you since puberty, and I’m gettin’ pretty damned sick of it. I sincerely doubt you’d even know how to court a woman. The only thing you seem to know how to do is jab your goddamned prick into one.”

  Lorelei’s eyes filled with tears. She turned her back on him, embarrassed, but kept talking. “This may come as a shock to you, Griff Nyle, but I have feelings. At one time, I thought I couldn’t live without you. Now sometimes I wonder if I can make it through another day. As soon as we get out of this fishbowl, as you call it, I’m divorcing you. I’m going to find a man who’ll love me. I’m tired of waiting, tired of hoping for something that’ll never happen. An arrangement isn’t good enough anymore, Griff, and neither are you.”

  She walked over to a chair, sat down, and her voice became soft as she gazed at him. “Don’t you see what I’m saying? I want it all, Griff. Can you understand that? The whole hearts-and-flowers bit. It’s silly, I guess, but I’ve always dreamed of walking in the rain with someone and getting drenched. Then we’d go in and make love beside a roaring fire. I want to kiss beneath the moonlight, on a seashore with waves crashing around us, play with puppies or kittens together.” She looked at him and smiled. “Corny, right?”

  She leaned forward, looking at Griff, trying to make him understand. “I want soft candlelight, champagne, and eyes that look at me with love. I want to be held in strong arms and kissed so much that I lose my breath. I want chemistry, Griff. I want sweaty bodies full of lust. I want to hear moans in my ears, I want darkness, and I want someone in that darkness to wake me up at two in the morning because he can’t stand bein’ near me without making love to me. God, Griff, I want bells to ring, rockets to explode, and I want to thrash around on the bed and get tangled in the sheets. I want all those things, and more... so much more. For years, the face on that stranger was yours, but not anymore.” She lost her composure and began sobbing. “As much as I love you, Griff, I won’t be used as your resident whore. I want someone that wants me and only me.” She hesitated, and then at last, she forced the words out. “I know now that it’ll never be you.”

  Hearing nothing but silence, she looked up at Griff, her eyes still full of tears. “He’s out there somewhere, and someday I’ll find him.” Embarrassed, she slowly got up and walked toward the door, but stopped just before she went through. Without turning around to face him, she whispered through her sobs, “Goodbye, Griff.” With her heart breaking, she ran out.

  * * * *

  Griff lay on the bed, cursing his stupidity and wondering which hurt worse, the gunshot wound or his womanizing ego that lay trampled—by a redhead in a black convertible.

  Chapter Eleven

  A few days later in the Oval Office—

  It seemed lately that everywhere Lorelei went, she saw Dash Nilsson lurking about somewhere. The thought that Griff might have told him to keep an eye on her filled her with rage. But still, there was something else. Had Griff told him to brush up against her or put his hand over hers? And what about those blue eyes of his? The brooding desire she saw in them couldn’t have been put there by Griff. It couldn’t possibly be professional interest he was showing, and it made her uncomfortable.

  The next day as Lorelei was going over her activities of the day with the agents, she glanced around. “Where’s Dash?” She looked up and saw one of the other Secret Service men lift his eyes and nod toward the doorway.

  “Here I am.”

  Lorelei turned and saw the tall husky blond lounging in the doorway. “I want to talk to you, Dash. Dismiss the others.”

  Dash gave them a nod, and the office slowly emptied except for the two of them.

  Lorelei turned toward him. “All right, Dash, why are you following me? Why in hell is it that every time I turn around, you’re there? Did Griff put you up to this?”

  “Haven’t you heard? I’m your number one fan. I think it happened the day you kayoed me... right there,” he said, pointing at where it happened.

  “Well, I want it stopped, do you understand? I’m not a child who needs watching all the time. I’m sure you can find somewhere else to spend your time.”

  “But I don’t want to spend my time anywhere else,” he said, pushing himself away from the doorway and walking toward her. “I like it fine right here.”

  The bold look in his eyes made her nervous, and she looked around. Remembering that they were alone, she backed away from him.

  “What’s the matter?” He reached up to stroke her face, but she cringed. “You scared?” He chuckled. “What the hell do you think I’m gonna do, rape you right here on your desk?”

  “Get away from me,” she said nervously. “I’ll report you.”

  “For what? I haven’t even touched you.”

  She grasped the edge of the desk behind her and inched herself along.

  “You seem nervous. I know something that would be good for that. I’d be glad to give you... some. I mean, since your husband hasn’t been doing it.”

  “How the hell would you know?” she said, her body bumping against a wall.

  “Because,” he said, casually leaning his arm against the wall beside her and looking down into her eyes. “You’re the first couple to come into the White House and have separate bedrooms. That’s how I know.”

  “It doesn’t mean a thing,” she said indignantly. “I have trouble sleeping.”

  “Oh, I believe that. But a separate bedroom is the last thing you need.” Looking at her seductive
ly, he whispered, “You need someone to pay attention to you. Someone to kiss those perky little lips ’til they catch fire. I guarantee you that if you were my wife, you’d be under me every night.”

  She reached up to slap him, but he caught her hand in mid-flight.

  Holding her wrist tightly, he said, “I also know that moonlight, candles, sweaty bodies, and tangled sheets turn you on.”

  She tried to get her wrist out of his grip, but he held it fast.

  “Oh, yeah,” he said, his tone becoming soft and suggestive. “I almost forgot about the rain. You know, drenched, and all that? Tell me,” he asked as he turned her hand over and sensuously licked her palm. “Would a shower do as well?”

  “You bastard.” She struggled harder to get her wrist out of his grasp. “What are you suggesting?”

  His voice became husky and almost cruel. “I think you know.” His hand moved swiftly as he reached up and tore the pin out of her hair. He grabbed her with his strong hands, and when he spoke, his deep voice held a challenge. “Keep in mind that I only made my move when I found out you and Griff were on the outs. When you said you wanted to find a man to love you, I knew that man was me.” Slowly, the gaze of his electric blue eyes slid down her face to her lips, and he crushed her mouth beneath his.

  Lorelei struggled with the bold White House security chief at first, but after feeling the delicious sensation of his lips on hers, she melted against him, surrendering to the sizzling passion that swirled around inside her. Not being able to control herself, she clutched him and raised herself to meet his embrace while the two moaned in each other’s arms. With her lips still warm and moist, she said, “You’re being paid to protect me, but who’s going to protect me from you?”