Chapter Sixteen
Reagan
What are you doing? I asked myself as I got into my car and followed Josh home. It wasn’t like I could even blame the wine. I’d had one glass the whole night. I tried to tell myself that I was just curious to see where Josh lived—which I was—and bored of the gala—which I was too. But deep down I knew that those weren’t the only reasons. Seeing Josh dressed all in black, in a suit that looked almost too good on him, had done something to me. I’d looked at him that night in a way that I hadn’t looked at him before. I watched as he spoke to his cousin, and I saw the way his face had looked when he’d spoken to the little girl in the pretty dress. I’d watched him talk in front of the crowd with confidence, and I’d been so proud of the speech that we had all worked on together. Then there was the way that he had looked at me when he’d first seen me in my dress. That wasn’t the way he usually looked at me in the office. And yet, driving back to his place was still completely mental.
I considered turning back about a dozen times, and I was surprised when I finally pulled up behind him and got out the car. I hadn’t turned around, and I was now walking toward him in a daze and trying not to lose control. Be cool, be cool.
“So, this is where the great Josh Maxwell lives,” I said and looked up at the house in front of me. It was hard to tell what the house was like from the outside, especially since it was night. It looked nice, though, and not nearly as flashy as I thought it would be. I wondered if the inside would be the same.
He smiled. “So, you think I’m great?”
I laughed. “I think you’re full of yourself. Let me guess: you’re going to have pictures of yourself hung up everywhere, and a cabinet where you keep all your trophies.”
“Next thing you’re going to say is that you’re expecting a butler, too,” he said as he opened the door.
“I most definitely expect a butler. I’ll be very disappointed if you don’t have one.”
“Well, then, prepare for disappointment,” he said and switched on the light.
I walked in and looked around. The house was nice, cozy, and nothing like what I had just described.
“Boring, huh?” he said.
I smiled. “No, not boring at all. This is lovely, Josh,” I said, serious for the first time.
“Thank you. It’s nothing special. But it’s home. Although sometimes I think I spend more time at work than I do here. And I see you’ve been the same lately. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how hard you’ve worked. You’re the hardest working person I’ve ever seen. Wine? Red or white?”
“Red, please. And I only work hard because I enjoy it. And because I really do want to see you win.”
“Do you want to see me win because that’s what you were hired to do or do you actually believe in what I stand for? You can be honest with me. I’m just curious, that’s all.”
“Josh, I wouldn’t have accepted the job if I didn’t believe in what you stood for.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
“And you really thought that my suit looked good today?”
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “You are the worst. I already told you this! Fishing for compliments left, right, and center. Have you no shame?”
“I have absolutely no shame,” he said and chuckled.
He handed me a glass of wine, and I took a sip. “Ooh, nice wine.”
“You haven’t answered my question,” he said. He was standing close to me, a little closer than usual.
I put my hands on my hips and looked him up and down. “Hmm, yeah, it’s okay.”
“What? I look incredible,” he said. “I’m the most fashionable senator there is.”
“Fashion looks better on people that are humble about it.”
He grinned. “I’m just teasing. I just wanted you to tell me that I looked good. You’re right; I’m just fishing for compliments. I’m not as egotistical as I make myself out to be. In fact, I’m probably quite the opposite. I just say those things for a laugh, and to protect myself. To be honest, I’m not sure if I look good at all. I was nervous all night in this thing. I kept wondering if I had chosen right. You chose the last suit for me, so I knew it looked good, but I wasn’t so sure about this one.”
My heart went out to him. “Oh Josh, I’m just teasing too. You look incredible in that suit.”
He smiled. “Ha! I knew it.”
“Josh Maxwell, you are the most infuriating man that I ever met.”
“I like it when you use my full name.”
“You mean Josh the idiot Maxwell?”
He laughed. “You know, Reagan, you really do look beautiful tonight.”
“Ah, for once you’re not talking about yourself,” I said. I felt my cheeks begin to burn and I hoped he didn’t notice.
“Okay, then we can talk about you.”
“You really don’t have to,” I said. In my head, I said the opposite. Yes, talk about me.
“I like you in that dress. You should wear that to work every day.”
I giggled. “I don’t quite think this is the right attire for work.”
“Yeah, actually, that might not be such a good thing. Okay. I have a game for us to play.”
“A game?”
“Describe me in one word, and I’ll do the same to you. You go first.”
I laughed. I liked this playful side to Josh that I hadn’t seen before. “One word? Hmm . . . I’m sticking with cocky.”
“Ha. So rude.”
“And me?”
He was taller than me, and even though I was wearing heels, he still looked down on me. Our eyes locked, and I felt a shiver run through me.
“Are you sure you want to know?”
“I’m sure,” I whispered.
“Delectable.”
I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t what I had been expecting. I thought he was just going to say something rude back to me. Delectable. Nobody had ever called me that before. I stood there, just looking at him, not knowing how to respond. Before I had the chance to say anything, he took my glass of wine and placed it down on the counter with his own. Then he took my face in his hands, bent down, and kissed me.
At that moment, I didn’t think about the fact that I was kissing my boss. I didn’t think about the fact that I was kissing one of the most arrogant men I’d ever met. Right then, he was just Josh. Delicious, delicious Josh. His kiss was passionate and hungry, and I knew that there was no way we were going to stop at that. He turned me around and slowly unzipped my dress. As it fell to the floor, he kissed my neck and moved his arms around my body, his fingertips lingering as they caressed my soft skin. He unhooked my bra and touched my breasts, teasing the nipples. Then his one hand moved down and into my panties. As his fingers found their way inside me, I groaned and opened my legs so that he could get in deeper.
I hadn’t had sex in a long time, and I hadn’t realized how much I missed being with a man until that moment. But this was even greater than anything I had ever experienced before. Josh had a way of making me feel like I was the only thing in the world he wanted. He was both rough and gentle at the same time, a contrast that would keep on surprising me throughout the night. He had pulled down my panties and lowered me down onto the sofa. He knelt down, placed my legs around his neck, and licked me. As I felt my nerve endings respond to the deft touch of his tongue, I grabbed onto the couch cushions, onto his hair, onto anything that I could to help keep me from floating away. He stopped just before I was about to lose all my control and he stood up, licked his lips, and told me that I was beautiful. It didn’t feel like a line he just used on all women. He looked at me in the eyes when he said it, and I felt like it was true. Then, as I sat there, still completely naked on the sofa, he undressed in front of me.
Josh’s body was perfect. He was chiseled in all the right places and reminded me very much of a character from those romance books that I read in secret. I wasn’t sure when he had time to exercise, but it was clear that this was a man that worked hard to get this physique. He walked naked to retrieve his wallet, where he pulled out a condom and put it on. He walked back toward me, picked me up, and sat down on the sofa. He pulled me forward, so that I was now astride him, and because I was already so wet, and he was already so hard, he simply slid right into me like a sword into a sheath. I cried out with pleasure at the feeling of him penetrating me. I leaned down and kissed him, pushing against him as he held onto my waist. My small breasts moved up and down his bare chest as I rocked faster and faster on top of him. He kissed my mouth, my neck, and my shoulder as I ground against him harder, and I somehow managed to hold out until we both came together in unison, our bodies trembling together with the pleasure of the release.
I climbed off him and sat next to him while the two of us tried to catch our breath. He was holding my hand, which was a nice gesture, and for a while, it felt good to just sit in happy silence. I turned to look at him and chuckled.
“Well, that wine was lovely,” I said.
“Still think I’m cocky?” he asked.
“Oh yes, incredibly so,” I replied. It wasn’t true. I thought he was beautiful, but I didn’t want to tell him that, nor did I want to admit it to myself.
We talked for a while, and as time went on, I started to realize what had just happened. It was as if I was just waking from a dream. What had I done? I had just slept with my boss. I could ruin the entire campaign for him. I’d been hired for damage control, not to create more damage. I felt annoyed at myself for giving in to his charms, no matter how good it had been at the time.
“I think I’d better go,” I said suddenly as I stood up to retrieve my clothes, which were scattered all over the place.
“You don’t have to,” he said. “We still have wine to finish, and I still owe you a cup of coffee.”
I shook my head. “No, I better go. I have so much to do tomorrow. Monday is going to be such a crazy busy day at work, and I have tons to prepare. It’s better if I wake up in my own bed tomorrow. You know me; I’m a workaholic.”
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I turned to look at him. That beautiful face. What had I been thinking? Why had I done this? This was not the smartest thing I had ever done in my life. I plastered a smile on my face. “I’m fine. Thank you for a lovely evening,” I said.
I quickly dressed, kissed him goodbye on the cheek, and rushed out. And as the cold night air hit my face, I felt the reality of the situation sink in. Reagan, you idiot! What were you thinking?