Hurry Up And Wait (Owens Protective Services #24)

8. Kavanaugh

8

KAVANAUGH

The door practically splintered open behind her as I shoved her through the door, my mouth fused to hers. She gasped against my lips as I tore her shirt over her head, kicking the door shut behind us. Her fingers grasped my belt, tearing it open and snatching the zipper that came way too close to taking out my already throbbing cock.

“Isla,” I breathed, skimming my lips down her throat. I trailed my hand up her breast, cupping her in my palm before continuing a path up to her throat. “Fuck, I need you.”

“When did you get so muscular?” she asked, kissing my muscles as she tore my shirt from my body. Literally. It was torn in half in shreds on the floor.

“After—” I muttered, unable to tear myself away from her long enough to answer.

I grasped her ass in my hands, lifting her up around my waist. Spinning her around, I knocked a lamp to the floor. I tripped over the edge of the floor rug and sent us sprawling to the ground, just barely catching her head before it smacked into the hardwood.

“Sorry about…the lamp,” I said while kissing a path down her chest to her jeans.

“Not mine,” she answered breathlessly .

Her jeans were unbuckled and torn from her body in less than three seconds. I didn’t take the opportunity to check out how she looked naked. I was too desperate to be inside her. My cock was leaking already at the feel of her body against mine. I ripped her panties and settled between her legs, groaning when I felt how wet she was for me.

“Remind me to ask you when the hell you got so fucking hot,” I murmured against her lips.

“Later,” she gasped, swallowing my groan as I thrust inside her.

She cried out, her nails clawing down my back. Fuck, this was heaven. I grabbed her leg and dragged it up around my hip, getting to my knees as I continued to rail her. Her ass was suspended in the air as I pounded into her over and over again, but it wasn’t enough. I yanked her up against me, then turned her and bent her over the arm of the old couch. Her hand shot out, gripping the back of it as I thrust inside her again.

I slid my hands around to her front, pinching her nipples. Fuck, she had amazing tits. After this round, I was going to take my time, memorizing every fucking inch of her body.

“Red, you’re so fucking sexy,” I muttered. I slid my hand up her spine, feeling every ridge. When my fingers reached the base of her skull, I grabbed her hair, tugging her backward. She gasped, her mouth hanging open for me as I slid my tongue inside.

“Kavanaugh,” she said breathlessly.

I fucking loved hearing my name on her lips, but for the first time in my life, I wanted the name on her lips to be something other than my last name.

“James,” I hissed.

“What?”

“My middle name.”

She snorted, which wasn’t what I wanted to hear when I was buried to the hilt inside her.

“Fuck, don’t laugh at me right now.”

“Sorry, but…” Her breaths stuttered out as I drove deeper inside her. “Bradford James…”

“Too cliché?”

She laughed again. “Your name is BJ. ”

I chuckled deep in my throat. “You like that?”

“I think it suits you.”

I pulled out and shoved her to her knees. Her eyes widened as she watched my thick cock bob in front of her face. “Be a good girl and get to work.”

If I thought she would be timid and shy, I was sorely mistaken. She swallowed my cock, moaning around my length. I gripped her hair, fully intent on shoving my dick to the back of her throat, but she beat me to it, choking on my cock like she was meant to do it. I lasted all of five seconds before I knew this would never work. I was going to come down her throat.

“You’re too fucking good at taking my cock, Red.”

I gripped her arms and hauled her to her feet as she protested. Her hand flew out to brace against the window as I shoved her back onto the arm of the couch, and then I was inside her, fucking her hard. She lasted all of ten seconds. I was done in twelve. I buried myself inside her and pressed my face between her breasts, vowing to spend more time exploring them later when I wasn’t breathing like I’d just run ten miles.

“Holy shit,” I muttered.

“Good?”

“Fucking fantastic.” I grinned up at her, kissing her hard. Her lips were soft and demanding against mine, and as I pulled away, I knew I was going to fucking miss those lips when I left in the morning. “I didn’t count on you.”

I released her legs, and together, we tumbled to the floor, sprawled out as we caught our breath.

“Yeah, well…no one counts on me.”

“Careful,” I growled. “I don’t want to think about anyone else you’ve been with.”

Her chest bounced as she chuckled. I couldn’t help but stare at her breasts as they spread, her nipples pointed up in the most enticing way. I slid my hand between them, exploring the feel of her skin against mine.

“What about him? ”

She quirked an eyebrow at me, rolling her head to face me. “I thought you didn’t want to know about anyone?”

“I want to know about him. You’re not divorced.”

“Not yet.”

“So, nothing’s final.”

“Oh, it’s definitely final.” Something about the way she said it made me think there was more to the story. Something she didn’t want me to know.

“What happened?”

She rolled on her side, her hand propping up her head. “Nu-uh. We’re not going there.”

“Going where?”

“Personal territory.”

“I thought you moved here for me.”

She sank her teeth into her plump lower lip, nearly sending me over the edge. “I moved here to be close to you. I had no idea this would happen.”

“But you wanted it,” I chuckled.

“How could I possibly know I wanted it? It’s been years.”

“Then why did you move here? Seriously, Isla, we haven’t known each other since we were kids.”

She shrugged, her eyes drifting away from mine. “I guess I wanted normal.”

I didn’t know why she thought she would get that from me, but again, I got the feeling something had happened that she didn’t want to tell me. But that wasn’t how this was going to work.

“Why did you really bring that box to OPS?”

Her gaze flicked to mine, widening slightly.

“You thought he would do something stupid. Why?”

She opened her mouth, but I was already ahead of her.

“No arguing with me. Don’t fucking lie to me. I’ve seen it all before.”

She flushed red, but didn’t bother denying it. “He really was a good guy when we met.”

“Everyone says that. ”

I felt the anger whip off her at my insult. It wasn’t intended that way, but that was most definitely how she took it.

“I’m not in denial or making excuses. He really was different back then. You should know me well enough to realize I would never allow a man to treat me like shit. That came when he made detective.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “Not sure. I think it had something to do with the men he was working with. His partner came by one day after work and I was catching up after being sick for two weeks straight. The house was a mess. It literally looked like a bomb had gone off. Anyway, he didn’t tell me he was bringing anyone over for dinner or I would have made sure the house was picked up and put a bra on. His partner made some comment about keeping me on a tighter leash, and from there, everyone at work felt they needed to tease him. That was about the time everything went to shit.”

“And you stayed.”

“Well, we were married. I thought I owed it to our marriage to try and fix things. I hoped we could turn things around, but his hours only got longer and his attitude worse. For the last three years of our marriage, I was miserable. I just wanted out. And then one day, I had enough.”

I swallowed hard, unsure I was ready to hear what happened. “Tell me.”

“There’s not much to tell. We were leaving a movie and he was grouchy as usual. I said it was over, he shoved me against a wall, and then someone intervened, probably saving my life.”

My hand fisted in front of me, but I made sure she couldn’t see it.

“Anyway, I told him it was over. I threatened to make him the laughingstock of the department if he even tried to stop me. His ego couldn’t take the beating,” she grinned.

“And then you moved here.”

“And then I moved here. It doesn’t surprise me that he shredded the divorce papers.”

“Do you think he’d go further than that?” I didn’t really need an answer from her. I just wanted to know how naive she was about the situation. I didn’t want her to be blindsided when he lost control .

“I think you already know the answer to that.”

I did, and I was glad to see she didn’t have blinders on when it came to him. “You know this is going to be complicated.”

She nodded. “Just be honest with me and things will be fine.”

“Then you should know I have to work out of town for a while. I won’t be around.”

“Will you call?”

“When I can. Are you okay with that?”

“I’m a big girl, Kavanaugh. I’ve never relied on any man to take care of me.”

I slid my hand over her hip and pressed my lips to hers. “I hope that’s not true about all things.”

I left her on the floor early in the morning, rushing out the door to catch my plane. The last thing I wanted to do after worshiping her body all night long was spend any time at all with the man I used to call my father. But this was part of the job and as long as I remembered that, I would be fine.

I studied everything about the senator’s campaign on the flight. By the time I landed, I was ready to scrub my eyeballs clean with all the crap he crammed into his town hall meetings. He lied so easily to his constituents, and my mother didn’t seem to care at all. She smiled the whole time, wearing those wholesome clothes that made her look like a throwback to Jackie O.

As promised, a car was waiting for me at the airport. I would have gladly taken a cab, but apparently, his son wasn’t allowed to arrive in public transportation. I wasn’t sure how he was supposed to win over anyone with that attitude, but it wasn’t for me to tell him how to run his campaign.

I stepped onto the curb in front of the glass tower where he ran his campaign. I checked in at the front desk and was given a badge to the third floor. As the elevator doors closed behind me, I tried to remember that the sooner I got this over with, the quicker I could get back to my life. I didn’t need to spend every hour here—just long enough that I could help the senator and gain the information I needed.

The moment the doors slid open, a weight pressed down on my chest and acid burned my throat. I swore I would never be part of his world again, yet here I was.

“Bradford!” A man in dress pants and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up raised his hand, then rushed over with a smile on his face. He was young, maybe late twenties, and looked like all he did with his time was run errands around this building.

He held his hand out to me, grinning the whole time. “Hey, I’m Jim. Your father told me you were coming today. I recognize you from the pictures. It is such an honor to meet you.”

What a fucking suckup. “Why?”

He fumbled over his words, clearly thinking that all he had to do was kiss my ass and I’d like him. “Because of your father.”

I nodded slightly, leaning in closer. “If you think that kissing my ass is going to help you get ahead, you’re fucking wrong. I’m only here because I have to be.”

The kid actually paled as he looked up at me. All the admiration he felt moments before was replaced by shock. Yes, the son of the senator had no desire to be here. He would find out eventually that every word his hero said was a lie. I knew better. I’d grown up in the same house as him. I’d seen the way he manipulated people to get what he wanted.

“Um…the senator will see you,” he said, turning and hastily walking down the hall to the office at the back.

Of course, it was the largest office on the floor, with a fucking minibar in the corner and a door that looked like it led into a private bathroom. The senator was behind his desk, talking over something with another man. As soon as I entered, his face lit up and he came charging around the desk with his arms spread wide like he was going to give me a hug.

I immediately cut off any hope of showing off for his staff. I drew the line at that. I dropped my bag in front of me, making it impossible for him to come any closer. He dropped his arms and his smile dimmed slightly .

“Son.”

“Senator.”

He didn’t care for my tone of voice, but I didn’t care for any of this, so I didn’t give a fuck. “I can see you’ve already met Jim. The office wouldn’t run without him.”

With a quick look in Jim’s direction, I could see why he was sucking up to me. This kid thrived on praise.

“This is my chief of staff, Edward,” The senator stepped aside and motioned to the man at the desk, who stood, buttoning his jacket. He cast a careful look over me, clearly disapproving of my choice of clothing.

“We’ll have to do some work to get him ready.”

“Oh, no need. I’ve got everything in my bag.” I kicked it just to add insult to injury.

Edward stared down at it in disbelief. “You have your suit in there?”

“Why? Is that a bad thing?” I asked as if I was stupid.

My father knew better and stepped toward the man, wrapping his arm around Edward’s back. “My son is a bit of a jokester. I’m sure he already has his suit at the hotel or the dry cleaners.”

In truth, I didn’t. I was planning on getting one while I was here. I planned on leaving a set of clothes in the city so I didn’t have to keep going back and forth with a wardrobe I would never wear anywhere else. After all, the senator went to all the trouble of getting an apartment for me while I was here. I might as well take advantage of it.

“We need to discuss a few things before we proceed,” Edward said, sending the senator a knowing look.

“Of course. Bradford, please sit down.”

I internally cringed at the name. No one called me that anymore. I even considered having my name changed just so I didn’t sound like a pretentious prick. I sat at the long glass table Edward motioned to, averting my attention to the file he placed in front of me.

“This is a dossier on you. Read it and memorize it.”

I snorted, flipping the folder open. “I’m confused. You want me to memorize details of my own life?”

“There were a few…tweaks that needed to be made,” Edward co ntinued. “Some things about you are less savory than others. It’s important we paint you in the best light possible for the purposes of the campaign.”

This was gonna be great. I started reading, finding the retelling of my life rather humorous until I got to the part about working for OPS.

“No, we’re not bringing OPS into this.”

Edward shot a careful look at the senator. “It’s one of your more fortunate attributes. We can’t possibly leave out your work with?—”

“No,” I said firmly, leaving no room for negotiation. “I don’t care what you want to make up about me. OPS stays out of this. The moment you start touting their name, the whole goddamn state is going to turn their attention to the company.”

“You don’t want more business?” Edward asked sarcastically.

“The company is very private. There’s a reason you won’t find us in an online search. It’s imperative that everything about the company stays as quiet as possible. Not to mention that if you bring OPS into things, your competition would dig into our most recent exploits, which would lead to some very uncomfortable questions about who exactly is involved with The Syndicate. I’m not sure you’re ready to answer that yet, are you, Senator?”

My father’s eyes met mine in challenge. I knew he was fucking hiding something from me, but until I knew what, I had to play things carefully. I couldn’t risk showing my hand to the public before I was certain how everything would unfold.

“For now, we’ll just say he’s been working in private security,” the senator replied.

It was clear Edward didn’t like the senator’s decision, but he went along with it for the sake of the campaign.

“Next, we need you to meet with your fiancée?—”

I snorted out a laugh, interrupting the chief of staff’s words. “My what?”

“To clean up your image.”

I shot a glare at the senator. “I had no idea my reputation was so tarnished.”

“It’s not,” the senator cut in. “This is simply to make you more appealing. Having a beautiful woman on your arm will only draw in more female voters. And our most recent polls show that fifty-four percent of women are more likely to vote for a candidate who’s married than a single candidate.”

“I’m not the one who’s running.”

“No, but you are just as important.”

“What about male voters?” I questioned.

“The statistics on that aren’t as favorable. It seems only thirty-nine percent of male voters see a fiancée or wife as an advantage.”

I grinned at him. “Do you want to know why? Because men aren’t stupid. They know that all this is the dog and pony show. Whoever you put on my arm will be a trained puppet who’s only doing her job.”

“I wouldn’t phrase things like that,” Edward said carefully.

“We don’t want our female voters to think you find them stupid,” the senator chuckled.

“That’s not what I was saying. Women still believe that men can be faithful. They see a woman by a man’s side and hope she can somehow reform him. While men realize that it’s not about the woman. It’s about the man’s integrity. No woman can make a man change. The man has to want to do that for himself.”

Silence filled the room. It was pretty damn clear to me that Edward didn’t like me. My father was only tolerating me because he needed me.

“Be that as it may,” Edward continued, “let’s keep those personal thoughts under wraps. A line like that would be a field day for the press.”

“Yes, and we wouldn’t want them to have any more scandals to deal with,” I said, pointedly looking at the senator.

“Watch it,” the senator snapped, narrowing his eyes at me.

I smirked, unable to hold back how fucking happy it made me to see him so upset over the truth.

Edward shifted in his seat, moving on to the next point. “I have your apartment set up. We’ve taken the liberty of moving your fiancée in there also. She’ll be in?—”

“Hold up,” I interrupted. “You moved her into the apartment?”

“It has to look authentic.”

I gritted my teeth, remaining as calm as possible. “And you assumed I would have no problem living with a complete stranger while I was here? You didn’t think that was something to clear with me first?”

“Son—”

“Don’t,” I snapped at the senator. “We’re not on the campaign trail right now. There’s no need to pretend for your staff that we have any sort of relationship.”

The senator bit his tongue, but I knew we’d have words about it later. Our private affairs weren’t to be discussed in front of the help, even if they were supposed to know every sorted detail of our lives.

“I think that’s a good place to end things,” Edward said, getting to his feet. “Take the packet to the apartment and look it over. Take some time to get to know your new fiancée. We’ll be on the road early tomorrow. The car will pick you up at six.”

With one final look at the senator, I grabbed the file and my bag, then headed out the door. It looked like I had to get that suit tonight so I could look my absolute fucking best tomorrow. And then I had to spend the night getting to know my new fiancée. With any luck, she wouldn’t be a replica of my mother.

With any luck, I would finish this fucking trip with my sanity still in order.