Kiss Kiss

by Various Authors

  “It’s a good thing I didn’t bring my gun,” Parker whispered with a laugh, her lips grazing Garrett's earlobe causing him to shiver.

  “I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have been able to find a hiding place wearing that dress.”

  Garrett’s eyes raked over her body and Parker’s heart sped up as she watched him absentmindedly lick his lips.

  As they entered the lobby and got in the receiving line to greet President Fernandez and his wife, Parker leaned her body against Garrett’s and held her lips close to his ear again.

  “You’d be surprised the places I can hide a gun, Garrett. A garter placed high up on my leg with the gun secured inside of my thigh is a great spot,” she whispered before turning away from him to greet someone from Fernandez’s administration.

  As Garrett walked behind Parker, he watched her turn, smile, and socialize with the Chief of Staff. She introduced him as her husband and a natural smile lit up his face. Garrett’s eyes roamed over Parker’s back side while she was busy talking and zeroed in on the slit up the side of her dress that showed off one perfectly toned leg. Garrett imagined a translucent, red lace garter hugging her thigh and his tongue snaking out to lick the skin above it. He thought about sliding his hand up the inside of her thigh and removing the Glock she most likely carried under normal circumstances from the elastic holding it in place and sliding the cool metal down the length of her leg.

  Parker played her part, wondering why Garrett was so quiet next to her. She introduced herself and her “husband” and explained who they were and what news station they worked for. As they made their way down the receiving line, Parker couldn’t help but glance down every few seconds at the ring on her left hand. Garrett brushed it off as no big deal, but Parker knew better. She knew his CO would have given Garrett wedding bands for them to use on this mission and those bands would have been generic and plain.

  Garrett had no idea Parker was coming to the Dominican until they were getting ready to leave. Parker didn’t understand how he could have possibly had the ring with him―the ring that reminded her of her mother, the ring she adored, and the one that Parker felt was meant just for her.

  Before Parker had a chance to wonder further about the ring, they were at the front of the line and Garrett was making the introductions.

  “Good evening, Mr. President,” Garrett greeted as he shook the man’s hand. “My name is Garrett Miller and this is my wife, Anna,” Garrett gestured towards Parker.

  Her heart skipped a beat with how easily the word “wife” rolled off his tongue and felt a warmth in her belly at how natural it sounded to her.

  “We’re with Fox News. Thank you so much for the invitation,” Garrett said graciously.

  Fernandez nodded his head at Garrett and then turned to Parker, taking her hands in his as she placed a kiss to each of his cheeks.

  Parker knew the protocol and remained quiet while Garrett and the President spoke. As a woman, she was there as eye candy for the most part. She had to tone down her take-charge attitude and pushy nature when she was in the company of this man and the people who worked for him.

  “It’s a pleasure to have you in my home,” Fernandez spoke in beautifully accented English. “And may I say, Mr. Miller, your wife is a stunning creature.”

  Parker smiled in appreciation, allowing Garrett to accept the compliment for her.

  “Thank you, sir. I’m a lucky man,” Garrett said with a smile as he slid his hand across Parker’s lower back and pulled her close to his side.

  “Allow me to introduce you to my wife, Margarita,” Fernandez said as he gestured to the beautiful, dark-haired woman in her mid-forties standing next to him. “I apologize, but my wife does not speak English.”

  Fernandez turned to his wife and spoke in rapid Spanish, introducing Garrett and Parker.

  “Gracias por invitarnos,” Parker spoke softly to the woman, thanking her for the invitation.

  “Please, follow the other guests down the hall to the elevator. It will take you to the third floor ballroom and dining area. Help yourselves to drinks before dinner begins,” Fernandez instructed them with a smile.

  As Garrett and Parker walked away and followed another couple down the hall, Parker leaned in towards Garrett and spoke softly.

  “You notice how his wife barely looked us in the eye and never spoke?”

  Garrett nodded his head.

  “Fernandez is very protective of her,” Parker whispered. “She’s twenty-years his junior and according to our intel, showed up one day out of the blue fifteen years ago as his wife. No one had ever heard of her before and there were rumors she was a prostitute. Nothing could ever be confirmed though.”

  Parker stopped talking as they got on the elevator with the other couple. Everyone smiled and nodded politely at one another as the doors closed.

  Garrett hadn’t removed his hand from Parker’s hip and pretended not to notice that it was still there resting dangerously close to the curve of her behind. .

  They stepped off of the elevator into the largest ballroom they had ever set eyes on. A guard standing by the elevator pointed them in the direction of the bar where several other guests had gathered.

  “So Fernandez marries a hooker and turns her into the First Lady? That doesn’t explain why she doesn’t speak though. Shouldn’t he have molded her into a typical First Lady so she could assist him with campaigns and policies and do a little public speaking on the side?” Garrett asked quietly.

  Parker shrugged.

  “You would think so. That’s typically what other presidents have done who married outside of their social circle. Margarita is never seen in public and the only time anyone is permitted to meet her is during a dinner like this one. She’s never given an interview alone or with the president for that matter. The only thing anyone knows about her is what Fernandez has told them. On paper, Margarita didn’t exist before she became his wife,” Parker explained as they approached the bar.

  Garrett grabbed them each a glass of champagne, and they made their way to the other end of the room, walking through one of the red curtained doorways and into a more intimate dining room, intimate at least in palace standards considering the size of the place.

  A long table that seated forty ran the length of the room and was covered in a white table cloth. The ceiling above the table was arched and Garrett assumed was where the dome on top of the building was located. There were ornate, crystal chandeliers hanging down from the ceiling every few feet throughout the room. Everywhere you looked there was gold, artwork, and lavishness.

  Most of the guests were already seated so Garrett and Parker had no trouble finding their place cards. Garrett pulled out Parker’s chair for her and took his seat next to her once she was situated.

  The President and his wife made their entrance a few minutes later and the wait staff began bringing out the first course. Luckily, Garrett and Parker were seated directly across from Fernandez.

  Everyone made small talk for a while, getting to know one another.

  Between the first and second course, Fernandez was in a deep, quiet discussion with his Vice President seated next to him. Garrett was waiting for a break in the conversation and was beginning to get impatient. He just wanted to ask the guy a few questions. They were here for an interview; Fernandez knew that. Garrett couldn’t figure out why in the hell he’d invited them to a huge dinner with a ton of people for something like that.

  He heard Parker speaking next to him in a strange language, and he turned his focus on her profile as she laughed and spoke easily to the woman on her left. Garrett leaned forward subtly so he could see who she was.

  According to her place card, she was the Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

  Jesus Christ, she speaks Dutch? Garrett thought to himself.

  Garrett shook his head and looked back toward the President as the second course was served. He was speaking quietly in Spanish, and Garrett really wished he’d taken more than a prelimi
nary course in that language so he could understand what he was saying.

  He reached his hand over and placed it on Parker’s satin-covered thigh, giving it a little squeeze, forcing himself not to move his hand all the way up and dip in between her legs.

  Parker ended her conversation with the Deputy Prime Minister and turned her attention to Garrett. He smiled at her the way a husband would, but his eyes darted over to the President. She leaned forward under the ruse of reaching for her water glass and strained her ears.

  The clinking of glasses and silverware and the steady hum of conversation made it difficult for Parker to make out anything more than a few words: girls, money, and boat.

  Parker picked up her water glass and pulled it to her lips, smiling back at Garrett and giving him a slight nod of her head that she had understood a few things.

  Garrett noticed the gesture and leaned over toward her, placing a kiss on her cheek and lingering for a moment.

  “How many fucking languages do you speak, hon?” he asked, before pulling away and raising his eyebrow at her.

  Parker’s skin heated at the spot where Garrett’s lips had just been, and she fought with her hands to keep them in her lap and not pressed against her cheek.

  She raised her right arm and rested it along the back of Garrett’s shoulders, her fingers stroking the hair at the nape of his neck like a loving wife.

  She moved close, pressing her body against his arm and placing her own kiss on his cheek right next to his ear. She whispered softly, “English, Russian, German, Greek, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, and Swedish. Oh and I have a Rosetta Stone at home right now learning a bit of Hungarian.”

  Parker let her lips press against the line between Garrett’s cheek and earlobe, hovering a moment longer than necessary.

  When she pulled away and slid her hand back across his shoulder blades to begin her second course, Garrett had to close his eyes and take several deep breaths to keep the growing member in his pants from ripping through the material.

  Two more courses went by and Garrett still hadn’t found a break in the conversation to talk to Fernandez. He decided to hell with it, and took matters into his own hands.

  “Excuse me, Mr. President?” Garrett spoke. He could feel Parker’s eyes on him, most likely wondering what the hell he was doing interrupting the man.

  Fernandez turned to face him with a smile on his face that Garrett wasn’t entirely sure was real or fake.

  “I was just wondering, out of all the businesses you own, which one do you take the most pride in?” Garrett asked as a waiter removed his empty plate from the table.

  As questions go, it wasn’t the most gripping, but Garrett figured he had to start somewhere.

  Fernandez laughed. “My dear boy, there is a time and place for business. Let us enjoy this wonderful meal that has been prepared by my chefs and take pleasure in the company of our women. We have plenty of time for questions.”

  Parker watched it happen like a train wreck. She could feel him getting anxious next to her, his leg bouncing nervously under the table and bumping into her leg every so often. She tried calming him by placing her hand on his knee, but that only seemed to make it worse.

  Garrett and Parker had spoke briefly on the ride over about what to expect during dinner. Parker told him as many details about Fernandez’s personality as she could in the short drive. Obviously he hadn’t listened to the one about how he did not like to discuss business during dinner.

  The last course was finally over and cleared and waiters began wandering around serving coffee to those who wanted it.

  Garrett wondered if he should try again, but Parker sensed what he was thinking and shot him dirty look and shook her head no.

  Before Garrett could decide if he wanted to defy her and just go with his gut, his thoughts were interrupted by Fernandez.

  “So, Mr. Miller,” he spoke loudly enough for their end of the table to hear and quiet down. “Tell us, how long have you and the lovely Mrs. Miller been married?”

  Garrett tore his gaze from Parker’s and looked across the table at Fernandez.

  They had only discussed this briefly on the way over and had decided to just stick to the truth as much as possible. The idea of that was funny to Garrett. He could sit right here next to Parker and spill all of his secrets and nothing he said would be taken seriously by her.

  “We’ve been married for about six months,” Garrett told him.

  Parker cleared her throat next to him, a little surprised that he had gone by the date that her and Milo were supposed to be married. She did tell him to use as much of the truth as possible though so they wouldn’t get tripped up. He probably assumed it would be easier for her to remember. Even though the date was something she’d rather forget.

  “Ahhhhh, newlyweds,” Fernandez said with a smile while those seated closest to Garrett and Parker nodded their heads and smiled in happiness for them. All of a sudden, all eyes on their half of the table were on them.

  "When did you know you were in love with your beautiful wife?" Fernandez asked.

  Garrett looked at Parker when he answered.

  "The first moment I laid eyes on her eight years ago," he replied honestly. Garrett’s tone of voice immediately softened as he spoke.

  Parker searched his eyes and swallowed past the lump in her throat. She so desperately wanted to believe what he said was true and not just some act. Parker knew it was impossible though.

  Fernandez reached over and took his wife’s hand, placing it on the table and clasping her fingers with his in a show of affection.

  “Love is a blessing which one can only hope for. I can see that the two of you have been tremendously blessed. I’ve watched you during dinner. I’ve noticed the way you look at one another. It brings me joy to see such a young couple so much in love.”

  Parker could feel her face heating up with the President’s words. She felt stripped bare and like everyone at the table, including Garrett, could see right through her. Garrett finally broke from her stare when Fernandez spoke again.

  “It’s a shame you have to work when you should be on a whirlwind honeymoon, enjoying the love of one another.”

  Garrett mirrored the President’s previous action and reached for Parker’s hand, placing it on the table in between them and squeezing it gently to calm her nerves. It seemed as though his earlier anxiousness had transferred into her.

  “It’s quite alright, Mr. President. My wife and I enjoy our work and are just grateful we are permitted to spend time together when we do it,” Garrett told him with a smile.

  There were murmurs of approval all around them and more delighted smiles aimed in their direction.

  “Is it not an American tradition to clink a piece of silverware against a glass signifying the husband and wife should kiss?” the Vice President’s wife asked excitedly.

  Her question was met with sounds of approval and laughs of pleasure from those around her.

  Parker and Garrett sat stoically at the table while news traveled down to the other end. Neither one of them wanted to let on that their nerves were threatening to eat them alive at the mention of the word kiss.

  Before Parker could excuse herself to the ladies' room or Garrett could change the subject, a gentle tinkling sound began at the opposite end of the table. Pretty soon, all forty guests joined in, including the President, as they picked up whatever piece of silverware was closest and began tapping them against crystal goblets, Champagne glasses, and coffee cups.

  The noise became deafening in the cathedral-ceilinged room as everyone smiled and laughed in Garrett and Parker’s direction while they continued clanging their glasses.

  Parker took a deep breath and turned to face Garrett, realizing they were going to have to do it. They were husband and wife after all; it should be no big deal to give him a little kiss.

  Garrett and Parker had kissed in a friendly manner on several occasions, usually in greeting, congratulatio
ns, or something similar. A quick peck on the cheek or a light brush of the lips. This would be the same thing, only it would be happening in front of forty strangers.

  Garrett tried to keep the look of fear off of his face as soon as the clanging started. He’d always wanted to kiss Parker; he’d dreamed about kissing Parker. The few chaste, friendly kisses they’d shared over the years were never enough for him. But the idea of doing this in front of all these people was not good. He wanted to be alone when he kissed her. Preferably in a bed, naked.

  Without giving it a second thought, Parker leaned over and placed a quick kiss against Garrett’s lips and then pulled away, smiling around the table. Garrett was grateful Parker took the initiative because he probably would have sat there all night thinking about being in bed with her.

  Unfortunately, the clanging didn’t stop and the cheering grew louder.

  “Come now, show all of us old, married couples how the newlyweds do it!” Fernandez encouraged loudly over the noise with a raise of his hands, indicating the crowd should cheer louder.

  They couldn’t act shy or like they’d never done it before. They needed to act quickly or it would start to look suspicious. Parker felt like a fool for making such a big deal about this. She was CIA . She’d had to kiss a few men over the years and pretend they were involved and it was always no big deal.

  Garrett and Parker turned back to face each other at the same time. Garrett stared at her lips and felt his heart speed up. He took his hand and slid it around to the back of her neck and pulled her forward until they were a breath apart.

  The noise around them disappeared and all Parker could see, feel, and hear, was Garrett.

  He angled his head and closed the gap, connecting his lips to Parker’s. Garrett slid his tongue against her lips, wordlessly asking for entrance. She immediately opened for him to deepen the kiss. His tongue pushed gently into her mouth, sliding against her own and sucking softly on it at the same time.

  Parker felt a jolt of desire shoot through her body when their tongues collided. Garrett pushed and pulled, slid and swirled his tongue through her mouth, until she had to reach up and clutch the hair on the back of his head to steady herself. She knew kissing Garrett would be the breaking point for her, but she had no idea it would affect her like this. She wanted to crawl onto his lap and mold her body against his, feel every part of him sliding between her legs until she came. Parker didn’t care who was at the table or where she was. His kiss was lighting her on fire, and she couldn’t stop the moan that she breathed into Garrett’s mouth.