Running Mate

by Katie Ashley

  “Sometimes.”

  Her brows scrunched as she gnawed on her bottom lip. Trying to put her out of her misery, I said, “Look, it’s okay. You’re not the brazen, sex-in-public type of woman.”

  “I can be brazen,” she countered.

  “Oh really?”

  “Yes. I just don’t think now is the right time, considering what could happen to your father’s campaign if we were caught.”

  I grinned at her. “Blaming your lack of a sense of adventure on the campaign is low.”

  When Addison opened her mouth to argue, Lucas and Elaina began herding everyone into the dining room where they had one of those huge tables that seated thirty people. While I had expected to be separated from Addison like at most dinner parties, I was glad to see we were seated beside each other.

  After we all sat down, wine was poured, and we began the first course of soup. I had just dipped my spoon into the fine china bowl when Addison’s napkin dropped beside me. When I started to reach for it, she shook her head. “I’ve got it.”

  I’d just taken a bite when Addison’s hand landed on my knee. She then slid her hand up my thigh to cup the Bear, causing me to shoot straight up in my chair. Turning to me with an innocent expression, Addison asked, “Is something wrong?” All the while, her hand continued caressing my growing erection.

  Feeling the eyes of everyone on me, I forced a smile to my face. “Just a little cramp in my foot. I’m fine.”

  “You’ve been on your feet too much today. Make sure you put them up after dinner,” Elaina said.

  “I will,” I croaked out.

  As Addison continued to give me a hand job through my pants, she calmly ate her soup like nothing was amiss, like my eyes weren’t about to roll back in my head. When she increased her tempo, my hands gripped the sides of my chair so hard my knuckles turned white. As I subtly pushed my hips back and forth, sweat began to break out along my forehead. Just when I thought I was going to come in my pants like a teenage boy, Addison removed her hand.

  I stared at her in both sexual frustration and disbelief as she took her wine glass and took a dainty sip. She smiled at Elaina. “This is delicious. I simply must get a few bottles to take back with us.”

  What. The. Fuck? I was sitting there with a raging hard-on and blue balls while she calmly critiqued the wine. The truth was Addison had strung the Bear too far along for him to just deflate on his own. I had to have relief, and I had to have it then. After pushing my chair back, I remained hunched over to hide my tented pants. “I’m so sorry, but I’m going to have to excuse myself.”

  “Oh my, you don’t look well, Barrett,” Elaina commented.

  “I’m afraid a sudden headache has taken hold.” No pun intended.

  When I stood up, I doubled at the waist to hide my erection while keeping one hand on my allegedly aching head. Just as I started to leave the table, Addison’s chair scraped back on the floor. “Lucas, Elaina, my apologies, but I won’t be able to eat a thing unless I see Barrett safely to bed.”

  “Yes, you most certainly should accompany him,” Lucas replied.

  Elaina nodded. “We’ll have a tray sent up in a bit for the two of you.”

  “That’s very kind,” Addison replied. She then slid her arm around my waist. “Here, sweetheart, let me help you.”

  “Oh, I think you’ve done plenty,” I hissed under my breath.

  Addison had the nerve to giggle. Once we were out of the dining room, I stood upright before glaring at her. Instead of cowering back, she gave me a shit-eating grin. “I told you I could be brazen in public.”

  “There’s being brazen, and then there’s being a cock tease, and now you’re going to have to pay.” Taking her by the arm, I started dragging her down the hallway.

  “Where are you going? The stairs are back there.”

  “We’re not going to the bedroom.”

  “We’re not?”

  I shook my head. “I want somewhere more public.”

  Apprehension rippled in Addison’s eyes, but she didn’t argue with me. Earlier in the evening, Lucas had given us a tour of the house, so I knew the second door on the left was the library. I opened the door and pushed Addison inside.

  When the door shut behind us, Addison glanced over my shoulder. “Aren’t you going to lock it?”

  “Then no one could walk in on us, and what would be the fun in that?”

  Her eyes flared as she took two steps back from me, but before she could escape, I pounced on her, jerking her against me. Our mouths crashed against each other while our tongues battled.

  I steered us over to the huge mahogany desk in the center of the room. Once Addison bumped into it, I knelt down before her. Grabbing the hem of her dress, I slowly began inching it up her legs and thighs, and my nostrils flared at the smell of her arousal. Dipping my head, I began kissing the exposed flesh, licking a warm trail up to her pussy.

  Addison’s hands came to my hair, her fingers jerking through the strands. I ripped her panties down to the floor before spreading her legs, and one lick between her thighs told me just how ready she was for me. When I stood up, her eyes, which had been pinched shut with pleasure, popped open. Normally, I would have gone down on her longer, but she had already made me wait far too long.

  Taking her by the waist, I hoisted her up to sit on the desk, keeping her ass on the edge. While I retrieved a condom from my wallet, Addison’s hands came to the button on my pants. After she unzipped me, she pushed my pants and briefs over my ass and down my thighs.

  “Do you want me to fuck you, Addison?” I asked as I rolled the condom on.

  She dug her fingers into the lapel of my tux and jerked me closer to her. “Yes. Please.”

  “Right here where anyone could walk in on us?”

  Licking her lips, she replied, “Mmhmm.”

  “Will you try to be quiet? Or will you scream loud enough for the others to hear?”

  “I’ll scream.”

  “Damn straight you will.” Reaching around her, I unzipped her dress and jerked the front down around her waist. I ducked my head to lick and nip at her breasts in the fancy lace bustier. Then I slammed into her, causing her to shriek with pleasure. She wrapped her legs around my ass as I pounded in and out of her slick walls.

  When her walls began tightening around me, I froze mid-thrust before pulling out of her. Panting, Addison’s expression changed from pleasure-filled to confused. “What are you doing?”

  “Giving you a taste of your own medicine.”

  Her swollen lips turned down in a pout. “You’re not just punishing me you know—the Bear is suffering too.”

  I laughed. “That is true.”

  Widening her legs, she gave me a seductive smile. “Then get back inside me. Right now.”

  “There’s no way in hell I would argue with an invitation like that.”

  Grabbing her by the hips, I flipped her over to where she was practically lying across the top of the desk. After giving her ass a resounding smack, I thrust inside her, burying myself balls deep. Moaning with pleasure, Addison held on to the edge of the desk for dear life as I fucked the hell out of her. Just when I thought it couldn’t be any better between us, it was.

  Addison cried out my name as she came, and two thrusts later I finished, collapsing onto her back. We lay there for a moment, desperately catching our breath.

  At the sound of footsteps in the hallway, Addison and I threw a panicked glance at each other before staring around the room for a place to hide. “Curtain,” I muttered before helping her off the desk. With my pants around my ankles, I had to waddle behind the desk, which caused Addison to burst out in a fit of giggles.

  “Would you be quiet,” I hissed.

  We had just dipped behind the heavy curtains when the door flung open. Peeking through the side, I saw it was the butler. “What are you doing?” someone asked in the hallway.

  “I could have sworn I heard somebody moving furniture around in here,” the butler r
eplied.

  I snorted at his summation of our actions. I was sure when it came down to it, we probably had been moving the desk around some. When the door shut back, I exhaled a relieved breath before sliding the condom off the Bear and tossing it in the trashcan. Then I pulled my briefs and pants back up.

  “That was a close one,” I mused.

  “No, that is exactly what happens whenever I try to be bad!” Addison moaned as she slid the straps of her dress back into place.

  “Admit it, it was fucking hot.”

  She paused in fidgeting with the front of her dress, and a sly smile curved across her lips. “Yeah, it was.” Then the moment passed. “Would you zip me up?”

  “Sure.” After Addison turned around, my fingers reached for her zipper, but then froze in midair. As the setting sun trickled in from the curtains, it illuminated her from the top of her head down to her feet in an angelic glow.

  And then it hit me. There was no more wondering or questioning my feelings. I loved her. I really and truly loved her. Without even hesitating, the words tumbled from my lips. “Addie, I’m in love with you.”

  Addison whirled around. “What did you say?”

  “I said…I love you.”

  She blinked at me in disbelief. “That’s what I thought you said.”

  “I really mean it, Addison.”

  “I know you do.”

  My brows shot up. “You do?”

  Bobbing her head, she replied, “I can tell by the look in your eyes.” After exhaling a deep breath, she smiled. “I love you, too.”

  At the sound of those words coming from her, I thought my heart might burst right out of my chest. Holy shit, she actually loves me. “Man, I’m fucking glad to hear you say that. It wouldn’t have changed the way I feel, but I’m glad you didn’t leave me hanging out to dry.”

  Addison’s hand came up to cup my cheek. Love danced in her eyes, coupled with a bit of mischief. I’d seen that look before, but I had never realized what it meant until today.

  “Well, when I imagined saying it, it wasn’t after we’d just almost gotten caught having sex,” she mused.

  I laughed. “Think of it this way: it just makes it more special.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  “Now come on and zip me up.”

  “Yeah, we better get out of here before the butler comes back.”

  “Or they bring the food tray to an empty room.”

  My stomach rumbled at the mention of food. “I’m starving.”

  Addison gave me a coy grin. “I quite enjoyed working up an appetite.”

  “Hey, I know— how ’bout after we eat, we work up an even bigger one?”

  She laughed. “Sounds good to me.” Then she cocked her head. “Now, will you please tell me where the hell my panties are?”

  ADDISON

  Barrett Callahan was in love with me. Notorious playboy and womanizer Barrett Callahan was in love with me—regular old, non-supermodel me. After speculating about his feelings for me the last few months, I now had verbal confirmation. He had said those three little words without provocation and not under duress. They had come tumbling out of his lips of his own volition. Call me a little petty, but I basked in the fact that he had said it first. For a man like Barrett, that was a real coup, and I couldn’t help feeling a little victorious as I snuggled under the opulent Frette sheets next to a snoring Barrett.

  Don’t get me wrong, I loved him, too. Over our months together, I’d come to fall in love with the kindness, integrity, and compassion that lay beneath his oversexed, party-loving surface. Time and time again, he had proven my stereotype of him wrong. He possessed all the qualities you looked for when it came to the type of man you wanted to fall in love with. He treated his parents with respect and deep admiration, and he had a deep bond with Thorn and Caroline. He exhibited a strong work ethic in his devotion to his job, and aside from the barrage of sexual innuendos that were a quirk of his character, Barrett always put my needs and wants first. He was a real catch, and I had reeled him in hook, line, and sinker.

  But the longer I lay there, basking in our mutual declarations of love, the more my feelings of euphoria began to fizzle. While I should have been inwardly belting out “Something Good” from The Sound of Music or “One Hand, One Heart” from West Side Story, I couldn’t seem to chase away the overwhelming sense of dread that coiled in the pit of my stomach. It even hung heavy in the air around me, making it difficult to breathe.

  Questions swirled in my head at a manic pace. Did Barrett really love me, or after all these months of pretending, had he just succumbed to the hype? Would he change his mind in the light of day? Would it all fade after the election? When the paparazzi were no longer dogging us and we were no longer playing our parts in the charade, would his love survive? Was it even possible for someone like him to romantically love a member of the opposite sex?

  Smacking my hand to my forehead, I willed the voices in my head to stop. But, no matter how hard I tried to think about something else, my anxiety continued working in overtime. One thing was certain: I wasn’t getting to sleep any time soon. More than anything, I knew I needed to get away from Barrett. Rising out of bed, I tiptoed across the hardwood floor to the closet. After grabbing a pair of yoga pants and a sweater from my suitcase, I crept into the bathroom to change. Then I slipped into my sneakers, grabbed my phone, and hurried out of the room.

  The house was quiet as I made my downstairs. Earlier when he was giving us a tour, Lucas had told us the alarm code to use in case we wanted to go for an early morning swim in the heated pool or a run through the vineyards. After punching it in, I exited one of the side doors.

  With the full moon lighting the way, my shoes crunched along the gravel path. I’d almost reached the vineyards when another fear came ricocheting through me so hard that I actually stumbled. Once I righted myself, my hand rubbed my tightening chest. A scenario played out before me in lurid detail, one that was hauntingly reminiscent of what happened with Walt.

  Barrett might love me, but could he ever be faithful to me and only me? With his past history with women, there was no grey area, only cold hard facts—facts I was finding it too hard to ignore or not be devastated by.

  He’d never been in a monogamous relationship longer than a couple months. Because of his past indiscretions, he had to be programmed to cheat. To look around for the better offer. The more attractive arm candy. The woman who didn’t want forever.

  Not me.

  As I stood on the hillside overlooking the vineyard, I sank down onto the ground and desperate cries overtook me. I wanted to be with Barrett more than anything in the world, but not if my heart would be broken beyond repair for trusting the wrong man with it—again.

  Fumbling for my phone, I knew there was only one person to call, one person who could help me navigate the hell I found myself in. After the third ring, he picked up.

  “It’s Addison. I need your help.”

  BARRETT

  The next morning when my alarm woke me, it felt like my head had just hit the pillow. Maybe I felt that way considering I didn’t roll off of Addison until late into the night. After eating dinner in bed, we burned all the calories we’d consumed by having a major sexathon.

  Fumbling for my phone on the nightstand, I turned the alarm off. Yawning, I rubbed my eyes, and when I turned over to kiss Addison good morning, I found the bed empty. Craning my ear, I didn’t hear the shower on.

  Sitting up, I scanned the room for her. I finally found her over by the closet—hunched over, furiously packing her suitcase. “Addison?”

  “Yes,” she replied as she continued stuffing things in her bag.

  “What are doing packing already? We don’t have to leave until after breakfast.”

  When she turned around, my gut clenched like it had been roundhouse kicked. Her bloodshot eyes were swollen from crying. Throwing back the covers, I leapt out of bed. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to your parents or one of y
our siblings?”

  “No, it’s nothing like that.”

  “Then what is it?”

  An anguished sigh escaped her lips. “I’m so sorry, Barrett.”

  Dread entered my chest. “About what?”

  “I just can’t do this anymore.”

  “But there’s only two weeks left.”

  She shook her head at me. “I’m not talking about the campaign. I’m talking about us.”

  I furrowed my brows at her. “Us? What’s wrong with us?”

  Her eyes pinched shut as if she were in agony. “I can’t be with you.”

  My lungs constricted at her words, and I fought to breathe. I sure as hell hadn’t been expecting her to say that. When I recovered enough to find my voice, I countered. “But I love you, and you love me—you said so yourself last night.”

  “I know I did.”

  “Then what could possibly be the problem?”

  “You.”

  “Me?” When she nodded, I said, “Okay, I can work with that. Tell me what I did, and I’ll fix it, I swear.”

  “It’s not that simple, Barrett.”

  “It can be, if you would just give me a chance.” The realization struck me in that moment that I had never asked a woman to give me a chance. It was always the other way around.

  She went over to the bed and sat down. “Last night I couldn’t sleep, so I ended up going for a walk. I needed to think about what you said, what we both said. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t ignore the feeling that this was all just an extension of the campaign, that somehow your feelings weren’t genuine.”

  What the hell? Has she lost her mind? “Now you’re telling me how I feel?”

  “It’s more about what you think you feel. We’ve been in tight quarters together for months. Over time, we’ve grown to care about each other a lot. I think somewhere during all of that, you thought what you were feeling was romantic and physical love, but in actuality, it was just love for another person.”

  “That is bullshit!” I stalked over to stand in front of her.

  “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. Maybe it’s the same thing for me. I just think I love you because of all we’ve been through together.”