He opened his eyes and took in the warm light of day seeping around the edges of the curtains he’d closed last night. Glancing at the clock on the bedside table, he saw that it was just past seven. In a few short hours they would have to part.
Dissatisfaction rushed through him and he tightened his arms, drawing her closer. He didn’t want to let her go. Not today, not ever.
The thought crystallized immediately. No, he didn’t want to ever let her go. He loved her. He wanted to marry her. He wanted to wake up every morning with her in his arms, he wanted to see her belly swollen with his child. He wanted it all.
“Ummm.” Selene stretched as she came awake, pushing her bottom back against him, and he forgot every thought in his head as he responded to the press of her soft flesh against his hips.
He slipped a hand up to her breast, idly flicking his thumb back and forth until he felt the tight little nubbin. “Good morning,” he said into her ear as he kissed the side of her neck.
“Good morning.” She reached behind her, wrapping one delicate hand around him and slowly sliding it up and down. “It feels like a very good morning.” There was a smile in her voice.
“It surely does,” he agreed. He could barely get the words out through the passion that clouded his brain as her fingers teased him.
He put one big hand on her thigh, lifting her upper leg and hooking it back over his, shoving himself forward into the warm, moist little nest between her legs but not entering her. “Are you sore?”
She turned her head so he could see her face, and she was smiling. “No.”
“Good.” He reached for protection and rolled it into place, then angled his hips and pulled her leg higher, opening her as he pushed deep into her. She was soft and wet and so warm he had to stop moving and grit his teeth in order to keep from ending their pleasure too soon.
And the next time he looked at the clock, nearly an hour had passed. He was lying on his back this time, and Selene lay on his chest, her head against his heart.
“Are you awake?” he whispered.
“Mmm-hmm.” She turned her head and kissed his chest.
“I think—” he said reflectively. “No, that’s not right. I know that I love you.”
Her head shot up and she propped herself on his chest, her mouth forming an O as shock widened her eyes. “Don’t tell me that!”
To say that he was taken aback was an understatement. “Why not? It’s true.”
“It’s too soon,” she said, pushing herself upright. “Don’t you think it’s too soon, Adam? You barely know me.”
He raised his eyebrows and slowly smiled. “I know you.”
“I didn’t mean that!”
“I know. It was just the perfect opportunity and I couldn’t resist.”
She shook her head, smiling now herself.
“And I think you’re falling in love with me, too.”
Her eyes softened. “Maybe I am,” she said. “But we can’t talk about this again until after the election.”
Hurt began to create a dull ache around his heart. “You’re willing to sleep with me, but I can’t tell you I love you?”
“I’m willing to make love with you,” she corrected, and he saw the now-predictable blush beginning to spread up her cheeks.
“Selene, you’re not making a lot of sense.” He tried to keep smiling, though it was an effort. “I promised you that we wouldn’t say anything to anyone about our relationship until after the election. But I am not going to promise not to say what I’m thinking.”
“I’m afraid we’ll jinx it,” she said, still blushing. “Us, together—we’re so wonderful, Adam, so perfect and amazing. Do you know what I mean? I guess I’m afraid that something will go wrong if we aren’t careful.”
“Sweetheart.” He gathered her into his arms again, pulling her against the long, hard length of his body as the hurt receded. “Nothing is going to go wrong. We just have to be careful for a few more weeks, and then we can announce it to the world.”
She sighed, angling her head to rest against his shoulder. “You don’t know my father. It isn’t going to matter if it’s a day or a year after the election, and it isn’t going to matter who won and who lost. All he’ll see is that I’m crossing enemy lines.”
“Crossing enemy lines,” he repeated. It sounded ridiculous, but he’d seen some of Van Gelder’s rabid attacks on his father, so maybe it wasn’t so far-fetched.
“Thank you for last night,” she said into the hollow of his throat. “It couldn’t have been more special if I’d planned it all out.”
“You’re welcome.” He gently ran his palms up and down her back, not feeling the need to say more.
“I do care for you,” she said quietly. “More than I’ve ever cared for anyone. And once this campaign ends, I promise you we’ll make plans. No matter what my father says.”
“Good. I’ll hold you to that.” His voice was warm with satisfaction. “And we’ll announce it to the media before they leak it, for once.”
He let her have the shower first, sensing that she needed some private time. He had breakfast brought up while she finished in the bathroom, and after he’d taken a quick shower and dressed, they sat down to eat.
Afterward, they prepared to leave.
Adam glanced at her as he prepared to heft their bags, then abruptly reached for her, shocked to see tears filling her beautiful eyes. “Don’t cry, baby,” he said roughly. “It won’t be long until we can be together as much as we like, remember? Just seven weeks.”
“Just seven weeks,” she repeated shakily.
“I promise,” he said. “You know in your heart we have something special here. Something lasting.”
She looked up at him then and smiled, though her lips trembled. “Yes,” she said. “Something lasting.”
He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs and kissed her forehead tenderly. Then slowly he stepped back and released her. “Are you ready to go home?”
She nodded.
Adam picked up her small bag and held the door open, and she preceded him into the hallway and down to the lobby. He glanced at her as he held the lobby door open. She was smiling rather sheepishly, her tears gone.
“What?” he said.
Her smile widened. “I feel like a wicked woman,” she whispered. “Everyone’s staring at us. I’m sure they know we never left our room once after we arrived.”
Adam chuckled. “I think you’re giving people credit for being a lot less self-absorbed than most of them really are. I doubt anyone even could describe us.” He steered her through the front door and began to lead her around to where he had parked.
“Wait,” she said. “I’ll take a cab.”
“It’s all right.” He opened his trunk and set her bag inside. “I don’t have anything big going on this morning. I have plenty of time to run you home.”
She glared at him as he walked her around to the passenger side and opened her door. “It would be better for me to take a cab.”
“No, it wouldn’t,” he said, calmly ignoring the fact that he knew she didn’t want him to take her home.
She narrowed her eyes, but he was impervious. “All right,” she said. “But only because it’s the middle of the morning and I know my father won’t be home.”
He grinned, victorious.
And when they arrived in the big circle in front of her family home, he wouldn’t let her out of the car until they’d made arrangements to have dinner again the following evening and she’d given him a very satisfactory farewell kiss.
“Why do you have a book that belongs to Adam Danforth?”
She was barely in the front door when her father popped out of his study and came toward her.
She froze, shocked that he was still at home in the middle of a weekday morning. Even more shocked at the chance she’d just taken. Had he seen Adam? She didn’t think so or he wouldn’t be half as calm as he was.
She focused on his question, schooling her
face and voice to reveal nothing. There had been so few reasons in her life to practice lying that it never even occurred to her to try.
“I met him at that fund-raiser you made me attend,” she said simply. Not a lie at all.
“I thought you said you didn’t find out anything important there.”
“I didn’t. He isn’t any more interested in campaigning than I am.”
“But you did speak with him.”
“He’s a font of knowledge about Savannah history.” Well, that was no lie, either. She took a deep breath. You’re a consenting adult, she reminded herself. You don’t need his permission to do anything and he can’t keep you from seeing Adam. To her surprise, she couldn’t prevent a slight sharpness from creeping into her tone when she spoke again. “This city is where my mother’s family lived for generations, and yet I know next to nothing about it.”
Her father looked completely taken aback. “Uh, I suppose we can fix that.”
“I’ve already taken care of it myself,” she said coolly. “And what were you doing snooping around in my suite?” She knew exactly where she’d left Adam’s book. Not in a million years had she imagined her father would think to enter her rooms.
“I, uh, I wanted to check your schedule,” he said, still staring at her as if he wasn’t sure who she was. “I just wanted to leave you a note asking you to be available for some campaign activities this week and next.”
“All right,” she said. “I doubt I have any conflicts. I’ll let you know.” She swept past him and moved toward the stairs, out of patience with her father’s odd behavior. “And good morning to you, too, Father.” She colored her tone with the sarcasm he so often employed.
“Selene?” Behind her, his voice was strangely diffident.
She stopped with one hand on the newel post and turned to look back at him, eyebrows raised in inquiry.
“I…thank you for coming home,” he finally said, gazing down at the thick rug on which he stood. “It means a lot to me.”
“I understand that it’s important to you to win this election,” she said.
“No, that’s not it.” Her father lifted his gaze to hers and shock slapped at her. He looked as if…as if he were fond of her. “I’m just glad you’re here. And I promise as soon as this election is over I will spend some time showing you the things your mother loved about this city.”
Tears stung the backs of her eyes and she bit her lip. If he’d ever mentioned her mother before, she had no memory of it. “I’d like that,” she said quietly. “I’d like that a lot.” But as she turned and began to mount the stairs, she cautioned herself not to count on anything. If he won the election, he was going to be far too busy to bother with her. As usual.
And if he lost…she shook her head silently. If he lost, she couldn’t imagine how he was going to react.
As she climbed the stairs to her room, her cell phone rang. Her heart gave a little leap of excitement and she realized she automatically assumed it was Adam, since very few other people had the number.
“Hello?”
“Hello, dearest!” It was Willi.
“Hi, Willi.” Even though it wasn’t Adam, it was the second-best thing. “How are you?”
“Utterly wonderful. But I want to hear about you! Last time we spoke, there was a lilt in your voice I’ve never heard before. Are you still seeing your Danvers fellow?”
“Danforth,” Selene said in a near-whisper. She slipped into her suite, closed the door and crossed to her bedroom. Only when that door, too, was solidly closed behind her did she resume a normal tone. “His name is Adam Danforth.”
“So you are still seeing him!” Guillemette’s voice was triumphant.
“Yes.”
“Selene! You sound as if things are going well.”
“Things are going very well.” She knew she sounded dreamy but she couldn’t help it. “Adam says he loves me.”
“Ohhh.” Willi’s sigh was nearly a coo. “Darling girl, that’s wonderful. Are you making any plans I should know about?”
“Not yet.” Selene sighed, the bubble of happiness leaking a little. “We don’t want to do anything until after the election.”
“The election that either his father or yours will lose?”
“Exactly.”
Willi was silent for a moment. “How do you think it’s going to go?”
“I have no idea. But if my father loses, telling him my boyfriend’s last name is Danforth is going to send him through the roof. You’ll probably see the fireworks in the sky from your side of the Atlantic.”
Willi chuckled. “Surely not that bad. What’s the very worst that could happen?”
“He could disown me, I suppose. Never speak to me again.”
There was a loaded silence. Finally, Guillemette said, “Well, darling, I hate to point out the obvious but the man has ignored your existence for most of your life.” There was a bite in her tone. Willi’s family had strong opinions about the lonely little girl Willi had begun dragging home for boarding school holidays all those years ago. “I mean,” she added, “you’ve lived without him quite well, and I daresay you could do so again.”
“You’re right.” Selene sighed. “But you know, Willi, I feel sorry for him. He can barely mention my mother’s name. Still, after all these years, he’s grieving.”
“And you know this because…?” Willi wasn’t so quick to forgive the years of emotional neglect.
“He’s been speaking of her a little bit. He says I look a lot like her.”
Willi made a noise that possibly could be construed as sympathetic. “I can see how that would be difficult for him.” She hesitated. “But, Selene, you aren’t going to allow him to dictate whom you love, are you?”
“No.” She had resolved that concern, and it showed in her voice. “Adam and I aren’t going to let anything get in the way our relationship.”
“Wonderful! I am going to have to start planning a trip to the States to meet this man. Or,” she added slyly, “you could always bring him along to my wedding, get married while you’re here and take a long honeymoon trip on the Continent.”
Selene just smiled. “Perhaps.”
“Has he asked you to marry him?” Selene had to hold the phone away from her ear.
“No,” she admitted. “He knows I couldn’t accept right now. And we haven’t known each other very long—”
“Pah. Time means nothing when two people fall in love.”
From Willi’s perspective, that probably was true. She’d accepted a proposal after just four dates with her husband-to-be. The fact that it had sent royalty across half of Europe scrambling to be sure it was an acceptable match had been of no consequence to either of them. Selene felt cowardly and small by comparison. Adam had met her more than halfway. Maybe he was right. And so was Willi. If she wanted him, she needed to show him that she didn’t care about what the world thought. Especially her father.
“Well, I can’t tell you how to live your life.” Willi sighed dramatically. “Much as I want to.”
Selene chuckled. “I appreciate your concern. You know that. Now tell me why you really called. Have you made a decision on the color of my maid of honor gown yet?”
Two days was a ridiculously long time to be separated from Selene, Adam decided the following day. Why did her father dislike his family so much? And why, given that he was pretty sure the man hadn’t figured prominently in Selene’s childhood, was she so determined not to upset him?
John Van Gelder might be a complete loser as a father, but he was all Selene had, Adam reminded himself. Selene hadn’t had the love and support of other family members throughout the years of her father’s neglect as he had. In her mind, even a loser was better than nothing. He could understand that.
His own father hadn’t been around a lot when he was a kid. And while he saw his father’s actions from a different perspective as an adult, there was still a little kid inside him who would never understand or forgive the benign negle
ct to which he’d been subjected. Thank God for Uncle Harold and Aunt Miranda. The “other” Danforth home had been filled with laughter and love and warmth and caring, and Abe’s children had been as welcome there as Harold’s own.
He was returning to the office from having lunch with Lea, when he stopped at the desk of his administrative assistant, Geoffrey.
“There’s a lady to see you,” the young man said. He grinned. “A fine-looking lady.”
Adam lifted his head, alerted by something in the tone. “Did she leave her name?”
Geoffrey shook his head.
“Where is she?”
“I let her wait in your office. She has a book that belongs to you. When she showed me your signature on the flyleaf, I figured she was okay.”
A book…Selene! He was shocked by the surge of pleasure that rushed through him. He practically bolted for his office door.
“Hey,” he said as he entered the room and closed the door firmly behind him. “What are you doing here?” He couldn’t believe she’d been bold enough to come here. He knew how she worried about her father finding out about them.
“I wanted to return your book.” She rose from the seat she’d taken at the small arrangement of chairs around an antique coffee table he’d found several years ago. His book lay on the table before her. “And maybe,” she said, smiling, “I thought I could get a kiss or two to keep me going until tomorrow night.”
He grinned, delighted at her unexpected appearance. “I think that could be arranged.” He met her halfway across the room and put his hands at her waist, pulling her to him. “Hello,” he murmured as he set his mouth on hers. But even as he sank into the embrace, his mind wouldn’t shut off. “What about your father?” he murmured. “You’re taking a huge risk coming down here.”
She shrugged, framing his face with her small fingers. “You’re worth a few risks.” Her eyes were very green and determined, and he wondered what had occurred that had emboldened her so. She certainly couldn’t be described as timid, but she worked hard to avoid controversy. If she had been recognized coming in here, things could get tense between her father and her in a hurry.
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