Politically Incorrect (7 page)

When national news didn’t provide desired results, I resorted to the lowest level possible. I scanned some of my favorite rag-mags, expecting to find loads of filth on the young Congressman.

No time for casual sex, my ass.

In all my years I’d never met a man who said sex was too intimate to be casual. That was a woman’s line and it was used to keep from screwing whatever ugly bastard she’d found herself shackled to at the time. No woman, at least not in this day and age, would ever turn down a hot man who wanted to screw her brains out. And since no woman would, I found it difficult to believe a man would.

However, the deeper I looked the less I found. Kristin’s name popped up countless times. Speculations about the true nature of their relationship, but even that fizzled to nothing. There was an obscure entry on a nameless ex-girlfriend, but the article was so vague it could’ve easily been Kristin they referenced.

“What the hell is wrong with the media? Have they forgotten how to do their jobs?” I complained to the laptop.

I scratched my head and stared at the handsome face with the broody, dark eyes staring back at me.

And what the hell was wrong with the American woman…and men…if they weren’t throwing themselves at this guy? Geez!

“Fine,” I snarled at the picture. “Let’s see what kind of hobbies they say you have, Mr. Too-Good-To-Be-True.”

I clicked a few links and found a site that showed pictures of Liam playing basketball with some inner city kids.

“Photo op,” I sneered and closed the site.

Worthless.

But I was relentless. I wouldn’t give up until I found what I sought.

And my stubbornness paid off.

A few more clicks and I hit the jackpot. There was Liam bundled up in a thick winter coat on a fresh-powdered mountain with a snowboard perched beside him. Another man, a couple of inches taller than him, which shocked the hell out of me because Liam was a giant, stood at his other side, also holding a board. That had to be his brother, Aaron.

Part of me felt sorry for their mother, because she had to give birth to those two. Then it got me to wondering how tall their parents were. More photo ops proved their mother to be around my height, which meant she was tall for a woman. Their dad, a rather handsome silver fox, stood as tall as Liam.

Height runs in the family.

My curiosity about his family was satisfied for the moment, I flipped back to the snowboarding picture. It had to be one of my favorite photos of him. Liam’s face, bright red from the cold, beamed from ear-to-ear. Snowboarding took courage, agility, and a lot of skill. I knew all too well how treacherous it was through all of Jordyn’s blunders over the years.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll have Jordyn’s vote after she sees this,” I chortled.

Between the cold air and the drinks from earlier, my bladder started to holler at me. Reluctantly, I closed my laptop, but not before bookmarking the page, and slithered out from under my covers.

For a house that big, I couldn’t believe there were only three bathrooms and one of them was downstairs.

Damn historic builders.

My feet hit the floor and I winced at the cold. I stood up and once again tugged at my sleepwear. Certain it was both dark enough and late enough that I wouldn’t be caught wearing Jordyn’s silky ─too small for me─ pajamas, I tiptoed to the door and turned the knob. The hinges creaked as I slowly pulled open the door, but not so loud I felt it would wake anyone. Opened just enough to slip my lanky body through, I left my room and slinked down the hall to the bathroom.

When I reached the door, I looked to my left and then my right. For the most part the hall was still dark. Only fragmented light from under the bathroom door gleamed into the pitch black. Assuming the light was from a nightlight left on for guests, I turned the knob and pushed the door open.

One step inside and I stop dead in my tracks. There was Liam climbing out of the shower. Beads of water glistened down his rock hard chest. He rubbed his hands over his head, spraying water around him. I stared in awe of the naked man reaching for a towel. Taut, tanned skin pulled over sinewy muscles taunted me. Tempting me. Gone was the well-tailored suit and hideous tie. In its place was sex incarnate.

My fingers itched to touch him. I could almost taste the water dripping down his body on my tongue. Inside my chest, my heart lurched, wanting to feel him all around me. Instead, my eyes feasted on the gorgeous man that was Congressman Baxter. Frozen where I stood, my gaze drifted down his well-defined torso to the main attraction between his legs. My eyes widened at the sight.

Fuck me! He’d definitely get the female and gay vote over that package.

His towel was midway around his waist when he noticed me. He stopped and something about his movement triggered me to look up, allowing my mind to escape the cloud of sexy flesh in which it was enveloped.

His dark stare met my hazel one. He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. I smacked my hand over my face, covering my eyes, trying to back out of the bathroom as fast as I could. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see…I didn’t know…” I shrieked, turning around, nearly hitting the corner of the door in the process.

Behind me, I could hear Liam rushing to wrap the towel around his hips. “Elizabeth,” he called out after me. “Wait!”

“I’m sorry,” I cried back.

“Elizabeth! Stop!”

But I didn’t stop.

Once I cleared the bathroom door, without breaking my nose, I dropped my hand and dashed down the hall toward my room. The memory of Liam’s naked form would forever be scorched into my memory.

Safe and secure in my room, I slammed the door shut and locked it. I pressed my ear to the cold wood to hear if anyone was coming. My heart raced in my chest and my breathing was erratic. I felt like a teenager who’d just been caught by her mother with a boy in her bedroom. I was absolutely humiliated. This wasn’t like me. I
never
lost my cool. Ever. Yet I ran like a fool.

“This is silly! I’m a grown woman,” I reminded myself. “I’ve seen naked men before. Gah!”

But none like him.

What the hell is wrong with me?

What an idiot I was over a little bare flesh. Not only did I interrupt a man’s privacy, but I gawked at him like a dog in heat.

Minutes passed and there was nothing. No one called my name. No one came to my door demanding an explanation for my childish behavior or why I’d invaded a Congressman’s privacy. Nothing happened.

I pressed my back to the door and slid down it, uncaring of the freezing cold floor beneath me. What I should’ve done was got my ass up and went to apologize to the man, yet my body couldn’t move.

Stupid!

I hugged my knees close to my body to keep warm. I dropped my forehead to my knees and closed my eyes. Gone was the urge to pee. It wouldn’t have surprised me if I’d wet myself during my run back to my room, but I was too cold and angry at myself to tell.

The whole scene replayed in my mind. His body, hard, long, and wet. His fingers clutching the terrycloth towel, about to wrap it around his hips. Water dripping from the top of his head. Those chocolate orbs boring back into mine. The look in his eyes upon catching me staring at him. What was that look?

Shock?

No, that wasn’t it. Well, it was, but not exactly.

Anger?

Again, it didn’t fit.

Arousal?

I lifted my head and shook it slightly.

Pissed off. That’s what it was
.

Arousal. Blah! My imagination’s wishful delusion.

As time passed, I started thinking like myself again. My actions had been unprofessional and I needed to own up to the situation. It was an accident. No harm was done, and no one but Liam and myself needed to know it had occurred.

I pulled myself up and dared to slip open the door. I half expected to find Liam waiting in the hall for me to finally grow a pair and confront him, but he wasn’t there. The hall was dark. There wasn’t a single sound. Not even the glimmer of light from under the bathroom door shone anymore.

Liam was gone.

Okay. I could deal with this. In the morning, I’d do what I was best at, averting scandal. Calm and rational, I plotted out in my head how to fix the situation. Yet, no matter how hard I contemplated my next move, the image of Liam’s naked body resurfaced in my head.

I’m screwed. So very, very screwed.

No amount of makeup could cover up the dark circles under my eyes.

For someone who was used to running on little sleep, I was suffering. And for what?

Guilt?

In my line of work guilt was a liability, but I felt guilty for not going straight to Liam’s room to clear the air about what happened. The whole thing was an accident. My teenage girl seeing cock for the first time routine be damned.

When the sun finally came up, I didn’t hesitate. I donned my spare black sheath dress, perfected my usual makeup, and sucked up my shame.

Much to my dismay, however, he was already gone when I knocked on his bedroom door.

Frustrated and a little hungry, I hightailed it downstairs to the kitchen for a cup of tea and maybe a waffle. I knew from years of experience that Harper wouldn’t be up before noon, and since there was no telling where the young Congressman had scampered off to, I’d be eating alone. Well, as alone as one could be in a house filled with staff who were already bustling about for the evening festivities. I dodged in and out of traffic on my way to the kitchen, doing my best to stay out of the way.

Now, I’d never been a wiz in the kitchen. My mother tried to teach me how to cook when I was younger but I had no desire to learn. I was more interested in reading and boys. Some years later I regretted that decision. As a young, single mother, I struggled to make my growing daughter a well prepared meal. After many nights of burnt soups, and yes, one can burn soup, I finally figured out a few minor cooking techniques. Not that I ever became a good cook, but I did learn how to boil water for tea and make some mean waffles.

Once in the kitchen, it didn’t take long for me to find a tea kettle, but with all the people rushing about, there was no way I’d be able to make waffles.

Tea would have to do.

Damn my luck!

I filled the kettle with water and placed it to boil on the only stove burner available.

The faint smell of barbeque floated through the air making my mouth water. Food was a must, so I slipped in between two women, both wearing chef’s uniforms, to get into the double-wide refrigerator that was bound to have something I could eat.

Much like the rest of the house, Harper had renovated the kitchen once he took over the estate. Polished hardwood flooring, painted white wood cabinets, gorgeous white and black tile backsplashes, and amazing black granite countertops created a look of elegance for the enormous space.

A giant kitchen and three bathrooms.

Three fucking bathrooms and I had to walk into the one where Liam was taking a shower. Why the hell was he taking a shower at such a crazy hour? Better yet, why wasn’t there any steam from said shower? That might have at least tipped me off.

Right. As if anything would’ve but his enormous…would’ve caught my attention in that moment.

Naked Liam resurfaced in my mind. Damn, he did look good.

Stop that! He’s too young!

Too young was right. Ten and a half years too young. Not only that but he was a politician. No self-respecting campaign manager would be caught dead with a politician. We knew too many dirty little secrets about the underbellies of politicians that the American people would die if they knew.

I shuddered at the thought.

No, I could admire him from a professional distance. There was nothing wrong with that.

I placed my hands on the door handles, ready to pull open the fridge when I caught sight of Liam through the kitchen window.

Of course he appears right now.

I almost had enough restraint not to take a closer look.