Politically Incorrect (8 page)

Almost.

I released the handles and side stepped to the window. Resting the palms of my hands on the countertop, I leaned forward. The morning fog still rested on the ground, but there was Liam doing pushups in the grass. Up and down he went, his arm and leg muscles flexing with each repetition. I watched as his lips moved each time he came up.

He’s counting.
I chuckled to myself.

The tight, black compression shirt looked soaked through and his black and red basketball shorts dragged the ground as he pushed himself up. How he wasn’t freezing in a sleeveless shirt and shorts astounded me. My ass would’ve been a popsicle.

His face scrunched with the intensity of his workout, and I became mesmerized by how consistent his movements were. They were fluid in motion, not jerky. His body knew what it was doing without even being told. It was trained, poised, and ready.

The longer I observed him, the bigger that pit in my stomach grew. Once again I was guilt-ridden that I had somehow managed to stumble on yet another private moment in the life of William Baxter.

I backed away from the window, leaving him to his workout.

I hated this sudden moral conscience I was experiencing. I’d worked so hard over the years to squash it.

With a roll of my shoulders, I pushed back the feelings. Once Liam came inside, I’d sit down and discuss what happened with him in a rational, professional manner. I was a closer and I would close this. Sure, I might have to eat a little crow. This whole damn situation was my fault and I was woman enough to own up to my mistakes.

All my plans to apologize reformulated in my head. I’d explain that I was caught up in work and I didn’t notice the bathroom light on. It wasn’t a lie. I was certain Liam would understand and even agree to let this whole thing go for the sake of the campaign. There was no reason for anything to be awkward. We were both adults.

Okay, so I was the adult. He just surpassed the brink of manhood. Tit for tat.

Secure in my decision, I moved back to the fridge. Cold air blasted against my face as I opened both doors. My eyes scanned the shelves, searching for anything that might fill my stomach. So much food and nothing appeared appetizing. I opened and closed the drawers, barely paying attention to what was really in them.

About to slam the doors shut, I was stopped by the warmth of his breath fanning over my hair. His chest pressed against my back and the smell of the outdoors flooded my senses. My body burned with kinetic energy. I tried to calm my erratic breathing, but there was no controlling it. His mere closeness caused me to tremble. Even if I wanted to move, I couldn’t. He had me pinned between him and the cool refrigerator.

A strong, defined arm reached over my shoulder and a huge hand appeared in front of my face. I glanced up to see Liam standing over me, sweat peppering his brow. His mouth pulled into a crooked grin as our eyes met.

Inside I was screaming in aggravation. This man was exasperating. Here he was, rubbing his nasty, sweaty, smelly...hot, gorgeous, amped up, body against me when I was clean and dressed for the day.

“Do you mind?” I snarled.

“No, I don’t,” he buzzed, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

I tried to shove him back, but it was no use. He was hard as stone and acted like he didn’t even notice my attempt for escape.

Liam pulled his arm back slowly, letting the bare skin of his wrist brush against my neck.

Ugh! What the hell?

I raked my nails through my silky locks, fighting the irritation crawling under my skin. No matter what, I had to get myself under control, apologize, and put this crap behind me so I could get to work on important stuff – like making sure Liam won the race.

I turned my eyes heavenward and sighed in resignation. With my chin lifted, I closed the fridge doors and swung around to face Liam.

He backed away keeping his eyes locked on me. A bemused smile played across those sexy as fuck lips.

“Sleep well?” he queried, hoisting himself up onto the large island behind the refrigerator. He dragged the bottle of cold water across his brow to cool his face. “Because you look quite exhausted.”

Thrown off task by his comment, not to mention that seductive little move of his, I gritted my teeth into a polished grin. “I slept fine. Thank you.”

He shrugged. “Could’ve fooled me.” Taken back by his candor, I examined his expression. His eyes darkened with mischief. “You really should sleep more if you intend on helping me win the election. From what I hear it’s going to be time consuming, me being the dark horse and all.”

Liam twisted the lid off the bottle and brought it to his mouth. His throat bobbed as he gulped down the water. Lost in his actions, I smacked my lips, drawing my tongue out over them. Liam twisted the lid back on the bottle and dropped it to his lap. His gaze traveled down my body, heating every inch of me. I dared to meet those smoldering eyes of his, only to get lost in my memory of him. Tanned skin. Firm muscles. Defined torso. An exceptional….

Oh shit! I just looked at his crotch!

I jerked my eyes away from him, feeling something warm rise in my cheeks. No way in hell could I be blushing.

No! No! No!

But there it was. My blood surged through my veins. The thrum of my heartbeat pounded in my ears. Tension mounted inside me and at any moment it could explode.

And it nearly did at the sound of the kettle chirping, which caused me to jump clean out of my skin. “Jesus!” I screeched.

“I’ve been called many things, but that’s a new one for me.”

The seriousness of his tone caused me to laugh. “How about asshole? Have you heard that one before?”

As I whipped around to turn off the stove and collect my screaming kettle, he tapped his chin and laughed.

“You seem rather jittery this morning,” he evaluated. “Maybe you should take a
shower
. I hear it can be quite cathartic.”

It was a good thing I’d set the kettle down on a potholder or I might’ve dropped the damn thing. I jerked around to him, my mind whirling with what to say next. It was time for me to own up and make amends. I rounded my shoulders and straightened my back, bringing myself to my full height. “I guess we need…”

“There’s nothing like hot water spraying down your
naked
body to help you unwind from a hard day. Wouldn’t you agree?” he interrupted me.

It took only a second for me to realize that this little snot was needling me. Well, two could play that game. I collected my wits about me and returned to my task of making a cup of tea. Mug in hand, I inserted the tea infuser and poured in hot water. “Absolutely. And locking the door to the bathroom is a good way to keep from being disturbed.”

Wrapping the chain between my fingers, I bobbed the infuser to help my brew along, careful not to look at Liam. It was bad enough I could feel him staring a hole into my back.

“Doors are only meant to be locked if someone has something to hide.”

“Again, I won’t argue there, but something so
small
should really be concealed behind a locked door.”

Boom! There ya go. Dig the knife in a little deeper.

I turned around to find his brow lifted and lips pursed.

“Small?”

I brought the cup to my lips, feeling the steam rise against my nose. “More like tiny.”

Liam shoved off the island and moved toward me. People tried to push past him but he was solid as a wall blocking their way. Instead they simply moved around him. “Not tiny at all.”

Through it all, I stood my ground. For the first time since last night I held the upper hand and it felt good to be back on top again. “I beg to differ.”

Much like he had in our previous encounters, he closed the gap between us in a single stride. He took my teacup from my hands and placed it on the counter beside us. “I’d hate to argue with you, since you’re the expert and all, but on this fact, I must.”

Without a flinch, I met his gaze, which wasn’t easy, and produced my best smile. “You’re right. I am the expert and you should trust me on this.”

He bowed his head, his lips ghosting my ear. “Maybe the expert on politics, but this, you need a little instruction on.”

Heat rolled through my veins. An uncontrollable shiver scampered up my spine so hard we both felt it. “That’s what I thought,” he whispered so soft it tickled my skin. Liam took a step back, giving me a chance to breathe. “Now, I need to go take a
shower
. My run was quite invigorating this morning.”

In a militaristic manner, he turned on his heel and started to walk away.

What possessed me to call after him, I wasn’t sure, but I did. He stopped but didn’t look back.

“Elizabeth. Don’t.”

His single warning burrowed its way deep inside me. In that one word I understood. This incident was between us and would stay that way. First impressions remained unscathed. Authority would be a tug-of-war between us. A game of sorts and this was only the first round. There was no winner or loser here. We had a draw. A draw in which we both agreed on. But next time there would be a clear winner and clear loser and the game would play out until Election Day.

My mouth snapped shut, as he lumbered off.

A worthy opponent
.

I reached for my cup and sucked down the bitter brew, my focus remaining on the exit where Liam had disappeared. The world returned around me, all the hustle and bustle of preparation. My stomach growled reminding me that I still hadn’t eaten. I chuckled deep in my throat and snagged a mini quiche from a passing service tray.

It was official. William Baxter was going to be the death of me and if I wasn’t careful, he’d also be my downfall.

“There you are. I’ve been searching all over for you. I thought you might’ve left.”

Harper plopped down in the armchair across from me. On the table, piled in neat stacks, were plans I’d started jotting down for Liam’s campaign. Mailer ideas. Polls to set up. Things steamrolled out of my head faster than I could write. I’d already called my office in DC to have the intent paperwork submitted, and contacted Scout about coming on board to Team Baxter. All of the pieces were falling into place far too easily, which worried me. Nothing smooth ever worked in my favor. I always anticipated a snag in the road, because no matter what, there always was one.

“I’ve got too much to do. Besides, my client is here, remember?” I teased.

Legs crossed out in front of him, Harper slunk down in his chair, locking his fingers behind his neck. “I figured you’d want to run home for a dress tonight.”

“Yeah, about tonight,” ─I leaned forward and flipped through a pile of papers until I found the one I wanted and handed it over to Harper─ “I don’t believe we should announce Liam’s intent to run this evening. I’ve been giving this some thought, and I think he needs to do a public announcement. We want his name out there, for people to see him. A private event won’t give us the coverage we need.”

Harper shoved forward, taking the paper. His eyes scanned over the document. “You want him to announce here?”

I smirked, snapping back the sheet. “Scout agrees with me.”

Harper smacked his lips, a wide grin growing across his face. “The Old Red Courthouse is a ballsy move.”

I shrugged, stacking my pile back on the table. “He’s young, Harper. He’s going to need a lot of gutsy moves if he’s to be recognized as a real contender.”

“This is like Obama epic. You realize that, right?”

I wiggled my brows, full of arrogance. “Why do you think I’m suggesting it?”

Harper laughed, tapping his fingertip to his lips. “Okay. So, how do you plan on procuring it?”

A few clicks on my laptop and a very important email appeared. I turned my computer for Harper to see. “Already done. I called in a favor or two. It’s set for tomorrow afternoon.”

“And Liam?”

I was about to make some offhanded comment about how he hired me to do a job and he better let me do it, when I heard, “What about Liam?”

My eyes shot up and Harper glanced over his shoulder at the lanky man strolling into the room. Dressed in black slacks and a crisp button down shirt, sans a God-awful tie or jacket, his collar unbuttoned and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, Liam looked like any other businessman ready for a day at the office. His hands stuffed in his pockets, with a manly black watch peeking over the fabric, he strolled through the study toward us, a carefree smile lighting his face.