POTUS: A Powerplay Novel

by Selena Laurence

  His father snorted. “And if I decide to take action regarding this flagrant display of disrespect?”

  “I didn’t do it expecting that you’d invite me to come for dinner this weekend.”

  “You’ll get nothing when I’m gone.”

  “I expected no less,” Kamal replied calmly. His father didn’t often use money as a weapon, but he wasn’t above it if he felt it was warranted.

  His father ground his teeth more, then finally held that famous finger over the disconnect button. “We will discuss this more later. Be expecting to hear from President Abbas.” Then the screen went black, and Kamal sat watching the sunrise over the quaint brownstones that surrounded the embassy, sipping his cappuccino, considering what he ought to do now.

  He truly was a man caught between two nations. If he told Jessica about President Abbas’s involvement with the Bratva, then he could be charged with treason in Egypt. If he didn’t tell her, then not only would he be lying by omission to the woman he was sleeping with, but he would be violating American law. He was caught between his family and Egypt on one side, and Jessica and America on the other.

  Kamal Masri wasn’t the kind of man who’d been faced with challenges much in his life. He was wealthy, attractive, brilliant, and powerful. He didn’t often encounter situations that he couldn’t control or master readily. And as he sat and looked out the window of the massive building full of staff and problems that he was solely in charge of each day, he determined that this situation wasn’t going to be the one that broke his streak. He had too much riding on it. His future, his happiness, and the woman who he was beginning to think he’d fallen in love with.

  “Madam President,” the general said, frustration leaking into every word, “the Department of Homeland Security has botched this investigation at every turn. The people of the US and indeed the leadership of the world are demanding to know who tried to assassinate you. They want answers, and if Homeland Security can’t give it to them, then it’s time to let the military take over.”

  Jessica rubbed at one of her temples, wishing like hell she’d listened to her secretary and taken that aspirin before coming to the Situation Room. “General, I’d be much more inclined to let you take over the investigation if you didn’t keep talking to me about bombing the Paradise Jihad without proof they were involved.”

  “Madam President, even on the off-chance they weren’t involved, why would you mind if we bombed them? They’re an enemy of the state. They’re ruthless killers who keep an entire quadrant of Pakistan living under a bizarre form of martial law.”

  Jessica’s chief of staff coughed delicately into her hand and gave Jessica a look of pleading. Please make the warmonger shut his trap.

  “I understand that they’re the bad guys, General, but until or unless you can prove to me that they were behind the attempt on my life and that we’ve found a way to eradicate them without taking out an entire village of civilians, I’m not going there. Are we clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the general answered grudgingly.

  “Good. Now, Secretary Wilson.” She turned to the head of Homeland Security, who sat looking smug because he thought he’d beaten the general. He was usually a smug little prick, so today wasn’t unusual. Jessica had only appointed him because he was a party faithful and longtime friend of her father-in-law. But she was losing patience with him now, and everyone who was complaining that he wasn’t performing up to par had legitimate concerns.

  “Yes, Madam President,” Wilson said with a slimy smile.

  “Why the hell haven’t you caught whoever did this? Because the general is correct that the American people and most of the leadership of the free world expect better than what we’ve given them so far. I’ve been patient, and we can count our blessings that there hasn’t been another incident, but it’s been two months. Tell me something I want to hear.”

  The poor man sputtered and stammered while Vanessa hid a grin behind her hand, and the general chuckled into his coffee cup.

  “Madam President. The Department of Homeland Security has been following every available lead on this, gathering the cogent information, interviewing dozens of possible suspects, having evidence logged and analyzed extensively—”

  “Yes, Secretary Wilson. Spare me the song and dance, I’m not the press. Tell me what we do actually know, because if it’s no more than we knew last week or the week before, I’m going to seriously consider giving the entire investigation to the CIA.”

  “The CIA?” The general yelped. Jessica gave him a quelling look, and he snapped his mouth shut.

  Wilson scratched his pointy chin and sighed. “We gathered the information that the Egyptians provided, but while it’s an excellent hypothesis, we can’t find anything concrete to tie the whole thing together. The Bratva haven’t made any untoward movements in the region, and the ballistics we recovered at the site of the shooting are a dead end. We have no evidence to definitively tie a specific individual or group to the White House on that night at that time.”

  Jessica thought for a moment, turning things over in her mind. “So, if I understand this, we’ve been going at this in the typical investigative procedural way —looking at the evidence, analyzing it, seeing if it provides any clues, then following those threads as far as they’ll take us.”

  “That’s correct, ma’am,” Wilson said.

  “Maybe it’s time to come at it from a different entry point.”

  “Ma’am?”

  She turned to the general. “What special ops do we have in the Baltic?”

  The general obviously understood what she was suggesting immediately. “I can have a team of SEALS and covert operatives there within…” he checked the complicated watch on his left arm, “I’d say six hours.”

  “Perfect. I want to infiltrate the Bratva. Can they do that?”

  “Ma’am, it would take quite a bit of time if we were starting from ground zero, but I have operatives who do business with the Bratva on a regular basis—keeping an eye on things in the region. I think I could have them make the introductions and get a couple of men into the organization relatively quickly.”

  “Perfect. Get the information on what business they might be doing in the Middle East. I want to know what the hell’s going on and whether our talks about the accord really did blunder into something or not.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the general said, glee in his eyes.

  Wilson merely nodded at her as she stood.

  “Good. Meeting adjourned.”

  As Vanessa walked out of the meeting with Jessica, she grinned from ear to ear. “Nicely done, Madam President. You didn’t take the investigation away from the secretary, but you found a way to use the general’s bloodlust to our benefit.” She paused. “And you kept those two pompous asses in check.”

  Jessica huffed out a laugh. “Well, don’t think I didn’t hear Wilson call me a bitch under his breath, but at least maybe we’ll finally make some progress on this. I want it wrapped up and some idea of who we need to be chasing.”

  Vanessa nodded. “I’m sorry you heard that, ma’am. I hate that you ever hear anything like that.”

  Jessica smiled at her earnest and committed chief of staff. “You know, it’s part of the job, and especially when you’re the first woman to have that job. The thing I remember to tell myself is that no matter what they say about me, I’m still the president, and at the end of the day, I can put them in Leavenworth for treason if I want to, so it’s all good.”

  Vanessa stopped in the middle of the hallway and stared dumbfounded at her boss before clearing her throat. “Uh…”

  “I’m kidding, Vanessa. It was a joke,” Jessica said, then grinned.

  Vanessa broke out into laughter. “Ma’am, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard you make a joke.”

  Jessica shrugged. “Maybe it’s time I did. I guess I have to get better at it before I debut it outside the Oval Office, though. You tell me when you think I’m ready for public consumpti
on.”

  “About ninety days before the next election, I’d say. Lame ducks can do whatever they want.”

  “Good. I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Then I’m looking forward to it for you.”

  Chapter 14

  Kamal followed Peter up the stairs to the residential floor of the White House. It had been six days since he’d last seen Jessica, and he was starting to go stir-crazy without her.

  When they reached the small waiting room that he was always led to, Peter made his usual speech. “The president will be with you shortly, Mr. Ambassador.”

  “Thank you, Peter,” Kamal said. The other man nodded to him. They’d developed a grudging respect over the last few weeks. Once Peter realized that Kamal wasn’t going to do anything to harm the president, and Kamal realized that Peter wasn’t going to betray them, things settled into a pattern that both of them could live with. Kamal was always cognizant of the fact that Peter would rather he wasn’t fucking the boss, but to that, Kamal merely shrugged and grinned when the other man wasn’t watching.

  As soon as the door closed behind Peter, Jessica bounded into the room from the other side, leaping into Kamal’s arms.

  He kissed her deeply, letting himself be carried away by her need, digging his hands into her long hair and dipping his tongue into her mouth like she was the center of a cream-filled confection.

  “Mmm,” she moaned, her hands winding around his biceps and squeezing. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered between kisses.

  He walked them backward toward her bedroom, smiling into the kisses she rained over his lips, his jaw, and his cheeks. When they reached the presidential suite, he kicked the door closed, reaching behind him to flip the lock.

  “I ought to stay away more often. It makes you very friendly.” He grinned down at her, and she rolled her eyes. “But—” he said as he loosened the knot in his tie and wrenched it off his neck, “the problem is that I’ve missed you as well.” He tugged on the bottom of her silk T-shirt and pulled it over her head, gazing reverently at her lush breasts in a pale pink bra trimmed with white ribbon. He shook his head slowly as if trying to clear it from a fog, then moved his hands to the warm flesh, cupping the most perfect pair of tits he’d ever seen.

  “Really?” she asked, grinning. “Anything in particular about me that you missed?”

  He exhaled, his cock hardening painfully in his expensive dress slacks. “I couldn’t possibly choose. It’s all so magnificent.” Then he dragged his gaze from her bare skin to her eyes, and he knew she could see how much want filled him.

  He took her by the hand and led her to the bed. Once there, he toed off his shoes and stripped his shirt, pleased by the look of pure lust that she leveled at him when her gaze fell on his bare chest.

  “Lie down with me,” he murmured, pulling her onto the bed with him so that they were lying side by side.

  She was quiet, watching and waiting for him to take the lead. And as anxious as he was to be buried in her, he also craved her company, was greedy to gaze on her beautiful face, and wanted to hear her voice as she told him about her days.

  His hand stroked up and down her smooth arm as they looked at one another.

  “I did miss you,” he said.

  “I missed you too,” she answered, her eyes shining.

  He looked at the circles under her cornflower-blue eyes, and it hurt his heart to see them. “Your press conference yesterday was perfect. Those families are lucky to have you as their president. Is there any more news on the hostages?” A radical faction in Spain had taken three American students hostage in an occupation of a college in Barcelona.

  “Yes, we can’t release it yet, but they are alive and well, and the rebels obviously bit off more than they can handle. They’ve asked for us to meet to discuss arrangements for transferring the Americans to embassy custody.”

  “Good. They’ll be home soon, then.”

  “Yes.”

  “So, the president will be fine. How is Jessica?”

  “Lonely without you,” she said, brutally honest.

  “I am so sorry, love. I wish so much that I could be here with you every day. I would love nothing more than to hold you in my arms each night.”

  She nodded. “I would love that too.”

  “And your in-laws? You had a nice visit with them?”

  Kamal knew that Jessica had loved her late husband deeply, and also that his family was important to her. He sensed that they put undue pressure on her, but he treaded carefully where they were concerned. He was the president’s secret lover, and until he was something more, he tried to keep his thoughts on John Hampton’s parents in check.

  “It was…predictable. The senator is recovering nicely from his surgery and won’t need any further treatment, so there is that to be grateful for.”

  Kamal nodded as he ran a hand up and down her back, watching the play of light across her face, and wondering how he’d ever gotten this lucky.

  “They want me to run again.”

  He sighed. “As you expected, I assume?”

  “Yes. I held them off, but they’ll try again. They always do. And it’s so hard to tell them no. It’s so hard to look in their eyes knowing that they lost one of the most precious things in the world to them, and this is their only way to keep him alive.”

  “Jessica,” Kamal said, looking at her with an ache in his heart. “John is gone. You can’t bring him back, even for his parents. You aren’t making things better for them by acquiescing to their grief, you’re only facilitating them in avoiding it.”

  “I know. Rationally, I know that. But they’re getting old, and I hate to see them suffer. They really are good people. When John was alive, I loved them so dearly. My own mother had been gone for so long, and my dad was far away…” Her voice trailed off.

  “Does it keep him alive for you as well?” Kamal asked, fearing the answer but knowing he needed to hear it now, before things passed the point of no return.

  She blinked as if the question was unexpected. “You know, I realized a while back that I can’t even remember what John’s voice sounded like. I can’t remember his touch, or how he looked when he slept. I used to know all those things as well as I knew myself. I miss the life that John and I had planned, but for me, trying to keep John alive has become such a burden that it’s made me resentful.”

  “That’s entirely understandable.”

  She huffed out a small laugh. “You don’t think I’m horrible? Blaming my dead husband for all the things I wish I didn’t have to do now?”

  “No, love, I don’t think you’re horrible. I think you’re a young woman who never got the chance to mourn her husband. Instead, you had to become him—for his constituents, for his parents, for the nation, and even the world. I never had the pleasure of meeting John, but he had to have been a wonderful man if you loved him. I cannot imagine for a moment that he would have wanted you to live a life that trapped you and made you unhappy.”

  Her eyes became glassy, and he stroked her long hair. “You’re right. He would have never agreed with it, and I know he would have told me, ‘Jess, you only get one shot, you’d better give it your all.’ And I’ve been giving it my all, but to the wrong things, so I’m going to fix that going forward.”

  Then she placed a long, tender kiss on his lips, and as the heat between them grew again, along with his need to crush her beneath him, driving into her until they both saw stars, he knew that this was more than an affair of the body, more than a meeting of the minds, and even more than a merging of two hearts. This was something that was weaving itself into his very soul. He was falling deeply, irrevocably in love with Jessica Hampton, and Kamal had no idea where that was going to lead either of them.

  “Make love to me,” she gasped, arching into his hands and lips.

  “Gladly,” he growled, divesting both of them of the rest of their clothes before turning her to face the headboard on her knees and holding her hands on the top of the wo
od frame underneath his.

  His cock ached, and his head spun, driven dizzy by her scent, her taste, her touch.

  He arched over her, nudging her knees apart as he stroked up her center with one hand. He squeezed one side of her ass, eliciting a moan from her, and then he dipped a finger into her channel, finding her hot, wet, and swollen.

  His teeth found the space between her neck and shoulder, and he nipped and sucked as she tossed her head back, resting it on his shoulder behind her.

  “So good,” she gasped as his fingers continued exploring her core. But then he moved them back, up the seam of her ass.

  “You trust me?” he asked, his voice hoarse with desire.

  She nodded, her head falling to her chest as she rocked against his hand. Gently, he brushed her hair to one side and tipped her chin to the side so he could capture her lips. “Such a good girl,” he whispered as he thrust a finger into slick heat. Once it was coated in her lubrication, he slid it out and moved it to her ass, slowly, steadily inserting it there instead.

  “Oh,” she choked out, leaning heavily on the headboard. “Oh God.”

  He worked it in and out, in and out while pressing on her clit with the heel of his other hand. Jessica’s breathing became erratic, short, uneven gasps.

  “I want you to come,” he instructed softly. “Show me what it’s like when you come this way. Show me how beautiful you are like this.”

  Jessica complied then, groaning deeply as she ground against his hand and came apart, her entire body heaving and shaking in his arms. He wrapped an arm around her waist to support her and waited while she rode out her release.

  “Oh God,” she sighed as the tremors subsided.

  He withdrew his hand from inside her and buried his face in the crook between her neck and shoulder.

  Everything in him ached to say it out loud, to tell her that he fucking loved her, but it was so far from where they’d started, he wasn’t sure what she would make of it. He also knew that in the midst of sex wasn’t the ideal time to say such things. So instead, he held her steady as he lined up and drove his cock deep inside her, seeing stars when he finally found himself in the midst of his favorite place on earth.