CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“I NEED AN EXPLANATION for how my wife’s name came out your mouth while you were in bed with your fiancée,” Nick said without preamble after he asked Avery to step into the kitchen with him. He’d had just about enough of this entire situation.
“I wish I had an explanation for you and Shelby, but I don’t. I never think about your wife that way. Not anymore.”
“I thought you and I had an understanding after our flight home from Tennessee earlier this year.”
“We did. We do.”
“Then why is this issue coming up again?”
“I wish I knew. I’m sure that once Shelby has time to recover and think about it, she’ll change her mind about quitting. She loves working for you both, and she adores Scotty.”
“We love her. We hope she’ll reconsider.”
“I’ll talk to her.”
“Have you seen her and the baby?”
“Yes, I was with them before I came here. He’s beautiful, and she’s delighted.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“I’m sorry about all this,” Avery said haltingly. “I never meant for any of it to happen.”
Sam came bursting into the kitchen. “What’s going on in here?”
“Nothing,” Nick said with a meaningful look for Avery. “We’re done here.”
“I’ll speak with you in the morning,” Avery said to Sam as he took his leave.
“What did you say to him?” Sam asked.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me, Nick. Tell me what you said.”
“I asked him how it was possible that my wife’s name had made it into his bedroom.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “You did not.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Like he doesn’t feel bad enough.”
“I honestly don’t care how he feels. This entire situation is out of control. She quit her job, Samantha. Don’t tell me it doesn’t affect us. What the hell are we going to do without her?”
“I don’t know, but I have no stomach for a fight about him or them right now. Let’s go see her at the hospital.”
“It’s kind of late now.”
“I need to see her. Can you make it happen?”
“Let me talk to Brant.” He came over to her, slipped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “Are you mad at me?”
“No. Believe it or not, I get it. I’d feel the same way if some sexy woman was uttering your name at the wrong moment.”
Nick’s brows furrowed. “So you think he’s sexy?”
“Shut up, and go talk to Brant.”
“I’ll go talk to Brant, but I want an answer to that question.”
Sam gave him a little shove to direct him toward the door.
When she was alone in the kitchen, Sam made herself a peanut-butter sandwich, needing to put something in her stomach after being sick. She hated appearing weak in front of her team, but confirming that Peter’s death was somehow related to her had messed her up.
After eating the sandwich, she fixed a glass of ice water and drank most of it and began to feel her legendary mojo returning. This was no time to let her emotions take over. She had a job to do, and she’d get it done. Then, and only then, would she allow herself to fall apart.
The kitchen door swung open to admit her son, who was all smiles after his big night out with Mrs. L.
“Shelby had the baby!”
“I heard.”
“When can we see her?”
“Hi, Mom, how are you? How was your night? I had a nice time with Mrs. L.”
Scotty rolled his eyes and came over to give her a quick hug. “I did have a nice time. She says to say hi, and she’ll see you next time. Now, when can we see Shelby?”
Sam ran her fingers through his thick dark hair, earning a scowl from her thirteen-year-old. “Dad is talking to Brant about making it happen.”
“Ugh, so that means we have to wait. I’m gonna text her and tell her we’re coming to make sure it’s okay.”
He had his phone out before Sam could reply. “She says they’re still awake and to come over. I’m going to talk to Darcy to get things moving.”
Sam shook her head at his exuberance. She understood why Shelby had felt the need to quit, but Sam didn’t honestly believe that Shelby would ever leave Scotty. She loved him too much. Perhaps he would help to smooth things over and get them back on track with their beloved assistant. Sam could only hope so because Nick was right—they’d be lost without her.
Nick poked his head into the kitchen. He’d changed into jeans and his favorite Harvard T-shirt. He looked nothing at all like the vice president of the United States and everything like her sexy husband. “Let’s go.”
Sam put down her glass and took the hand he offered her.
“How you feeling?” he asked.
“Better now.” Being around him and Scotty helped to remind her of how far she’d come from the difficult years she’d spent married to Peter. Nothing about her life today resembled that life, and though she had no regrets about ending her marriage to him, she would always regret having had a hand—however indirectly—in his horrible death. It would take some time to make peace with that, but she’d find a way. She always did.
They were loaded into one of the black SUVs and driven to the George Washington University Hospital, where they were escorted to the maternity floor by a team of agents. As they walked through the hospital, patients, family members, doctors, nurses and other medical staff stopped what they were doing to watch them go by.
Months later, it was still so strange to be recognized everywhere they went.
Sam held Nick’s hand as they followed Scotty, who was walking so fast he nearly overtook the agents leading the way. She looked up at Nick, who smiled back at her in amusement over their son’s excitement.
Outside Shelby’s room, they were forced to wait while Brant went in first to make sure no one was inside planning to harm the second family. A silly formality, but one they’d grown accustomed to.
When they got the green light from Brant, Scotty burst through the door.
Sam and Nick followed at a more respectable pace.
“Can I hold him?” Scotty was asking when they reached Shelby’s bedside.
“Of course.” She handed over her son to Scotty. “Support his head. His neck isn’t strong enough to hold it up yet.”
“I’ve got him. What’s his name?”
“Noah.”
“Hi, Noah, I’m Scotty, and I’ll teach you everything you need to know about being a kid.”
Shelby sniffled and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.
“He’s so beautiful, Shelby,” Sam said as she gazed down at the tiny face. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you, and thank you guys for coming in. I know it’s a huge hassle.”
“Anything for you,” Nick said, staring at the newborn. “He sure is cute.”
“I think so too.”
“How’re you feeling?” Sam asked.
“Like I got run over by a bus, but I’m so happy that I don’t even care about that.”
There it was, that pang of envy Sam experienced every time someone close to her gave birth, supposedly the most natural part of being a woman—for everyone but her, or so it seemed.
Nick’s hand on her lower back was his way of letting her know he understood that this was hard for her. While she celebrated each new arrival in their circle of family and friends, the babies reminded them what they’d been denied thus far.
Scotty eventually gave Nick and Sam a turn holding the baby. Sam was relieved that everything seemed normal between the four of them and hoped that Shelby would reconsider her resignation when she had time to think about it. But tonight was all about celebrating baby Noah. There’d be time to worry about other details later.
When she noticed Shelby beginning to tire, Sam told Scotty to say his goodbyes.
“Already? We just got here.”
“Shelby and Noah have had a very big day. They need their rest.”
“Oh all right, but we can come back tomorrow, can’t we?”
“We should be going home tomorrow,” Shelby said.
“Then we’ll visit you there,” Scotty said. “If you don’t mind.”
Shelby smiled up at him, charmed by him as always. “I don’t mind. I’d love to see you. Anytime.”
Sam bent over Shelby’s bed and kissed her cheek. “Congratulations. He’s amazing, and you look fantastic.”
“Thank you so much.”
Nick followed suit. “Well done, Mama.”
“I can’t wait to tell Noah someday that the vice president of the United States came to visit the night he was born.”
Nick squeezed her shoulder affectionately. “Just tell him his friend Nick was here.”
“I’ll do that too.”
“You know where we are if you need anything at all,” he said.
“I do. Thanks again for coming.”
Sam had so many questions. What was she thinking? What would happen next? Would she and the baby go home to Avery’s house, where Shelby had been living for months now? Would Avery help to raise the child as they had planned? Everything was up in the air, and Sam hated that for her friend. The parallels between this situation and Peter’s murder weren’t lost on her. In both cases, she was involved in something she’d actually had nothing to do with. It was a weird spot to be in.
Scotty talked about the baby all the way home. “I’m going up to watch the end of the Feds game. I’ll see you guys in the morning.” He stood still to accept a good-night kiss from Sam.
“See you in the morning.”
“Might be afternoon,” he said with a wink, reminding her it was summer and he was on vacation.
“Don’t forget we have Jeannie’s wedding on Saturday.”
“I remember,” he called over his shoulder as he went upstairs.
“I need a drink,” Nick said. “Want one?”
“I wouldn’t say no to that.” She followed him into the kitchen, where he opened a beer for himself and poured her a glass of chardonnay.
Leaning against the counter, he held up his bottle to her. “Here’s to a better day tomorrow.”
She touched her glass to his bottle. “I’ll drink to that.” After taking a sip of her wine, she noticed him studying her. “What?”
“I keep asking if you’re okay, but I keep having reason to.”
“Thank you for asking, and I’m okay. I was thinking at the hospital that it’s a weird spot to be in, feeling responsible for bad things happening to other people when I actually had nothing to do with it in either case.”
“I’m sorry you’re in that spot, just like I’m sorry that me being VP gave someone like Buzz Janson a reason to write shit about you. That wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t taken this job, and that’s hard for me to live with.”
“We always say that we can’t let other people and their crap touch us if we don’t let it, but sometimes that’s easier said than done.”
“Definitely.” They finished their drinks in silence. “What do you say we push all the crap aside for the next eight hours and focus only on what matters most?”
“I say that sounds like a brilliant idea.”
With his hand on her back, he guided her out of the kitchen and up the stairs to their room. “Here or the loft?” he asked after he closed the door behind them.
“I need a shower and then definitely the loft.”
“Mmm, good answer.”
The low, sexy tone of his voice had her pulling off her clothes and rushing through her shower. Wearing pajama bottoms with his Harvard T-shirt, he waited for her on their bed, flipping through a magazine. He looked up when she emerged from the bathroom wearing only a robe.
“I hate that we have to walk by the agent in the hallway on the way upstairs,” she said.
“I can remedy that.” He went to the door, poked his head out and then signaled for her to come with him.
In the unmanned hallway, they stopped to say a quick good-night to Scotty and then went upstairs to their hideaway on the third floor that Nick had tricked out to resemble the place in Bora Bora where they’d spent their honeymoon and first anniversary. He closed the door and lit the beach-scented candles that took Sam right back to the blissful time away.
“What did you say to the agent in the hallway?”
“I asked him to go downstairs for fifteen minutes.”
“That’s all it takes to get rid of them? I’ll have to remember that in the future.”
“They won’t do it for you. Only me.”
“Okay, Mr. Power Trip.” While he laughed and turned on the music, she tugged on the belt to her robe.
“Allow me,” he said, taking over for her. He opened the robe slowly, letting his gaze wander from her face to her breasts and below. “There’s my gorgeous wife.”
Sam reached for the hem of his T-shirt and drew it up and over his head. “And there’s my favorite boy chest.”
“Let’s talk about how you think Avery Hill is sexy.”
Sam playfully twisted his nipples, making him gasp. “Let’s not.”
“No, really, I think we should. You’ve never told me before that you think he’s sexy.”
The playful tone in his voice was the only reason Sam didn’t punch his lights out. Rather than resort to violence, she tugged his pajama pants down, waited until he kicked them off and then pushed him back until his legs hit the futon, forcing him to sit. She shimmied out of her robe before dropping to her knees in front of him.
“What’s going on?” he asked, watching her with eyes gone hot with desire.
“I’m changing the subject.”
“What shall we talk about now?”
“How about no talk and lots of action?”
“Depends on what kind of action—”
Sam bent over his hard cock and took him into her mouth, not stopping until he nudged up against her throat. She swallowed, making him gasp.
“—we’re talking about.”
With her hand flat on his chest, she gave a gentle shove, telling him to lie back and relax while she had her way with him. The second he was settled, she went to town, licking, sucking, stroking and teasing him until she was sure he wouldn’t be able to remember his own name, let alone Avery’s.
She loved times like this when they could focus entirely on their relationship while all the bullshit around them faded away like so much noise. Here it was only him and her and the love they had for each other. And dear God, she loved him, even when he was trying to provoke her with comments about Avery.
As payback for bringing Avery into their bedroom, she added a light grazing of teeth to her repertoire.
“Ah, fuck, Samantha...”
She did it again.
He buried his hands in her hair, grasping it tight enough to hurt, but the slight bite of pain only added to the pleasure. “Baby...wait. I—”
Cupping his balls, she gave a squeeze and swallowed around the head of his cock. The hand he placed over his mouth kept the whole house from hearing him come.
Sam swallowed every drop and then licked him clean as his chest heaved.
“Fucking hell,” he said, still gasping for air. “What brought that on?”
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Just a reminder of who I find sexy.”
“I’ll have to mention him more often if that’s what happens when I do.”
Sam poked his belly, making him startle and then laugh. “Don’t you dare.”
He held out his arms to her. “Come up here.”
She crawled onto the bed and came down on top of him.
“That was amazing,” he said when they were face-to-face. “You are amazing. Best wife I ever had.”
“I bet you say that to all your wives.”
“Nope. Only you.” He wrapped his arms around her.
Sam nuzzled into the curve of his neck, breathing him in. “Is that it? Are we done?”
“You gotta give me a few minutes to recover from what you just did. I’m not as young as I used to be, you know.”
She snorted with laughter. He was every bit as young and virile and unstoppable as he’d ever been. “I’m getting kind of bored waiting on you.”
He moved so quickly she never saw it coming before she was flipped onto her back with her handsome, sexy, extremely virile husband staring down at her. “Bored?” he asked, raising one eyebrow. “Is that what I just heard you say?”
“Of course not. I said ‘snored.’ Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You’re telling me not to be ridiculous when you’re throwing the word bored around?”
The indignant expression on his face made her laugh, and once she started, she couldn’t stop.
“You’re great for my ego, Samantha. You’re naked in my arms and laughing your ass off.”
“Laughing beats crying.”
“Yeah, it certainly does.”
She reached for him and drew him down to her, sighing when his lips met hers. As he kissed her, she raised her legs and wrapped them around his hips, opening her body to his reawakened erection. He slid into her while continuing to kiss her.
Sam ran her fingers through his hair and then down his back, digging into the dense flesh of his muscles as he pressed deep inside her. Thank God for this, she thought. Thank God for him. She’d be a certifiable lunatic without him to come home to, without him to keep her grounded and sane. He made everything worth it. The crazy shit they had to deal with melted away when they were together this way.
She loved it so much she never wanted it to end. Breaking the kiss, she said, “Go slow. Make it last.”
He smiled down at her. “I can go all night now that you took the edge off.”
“All night?”
“Uh-huh.” Bending his head, he kissed from her ear to her collarbone and then down between her breasts while keeping up a slow, sensual slide of his cock into her body. “Good?”
“So good. The best thing ever.”
“There’s nothing in this world that’s better than this.” Nick reached beneath her, his hands cupping her ass to hold her open so he could go deeper and make her come so hard she saw stars.
“Damn,” she whispered when she came down from the incredible high to discover he was nowhere near finished with her.
“Hold on to me,” he said gruffly.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he moved them so they were facing each other, his cock still buried deep, her leg over his hip, his hand on her ass keeping her pressed against him.
“Talk to me,” he said. “Tell me how it feels.”
“So good, so tight and hot.”
“Mmm, give me more.” The rumble of his voice so close to her ear set off a riot of sensation, making the bundle of nerves between her legs throb with renewed desire.
“I love how you get bigger inside me.”
“Like this?”
“Yeah,” she said, breathlessly. “Just like that. Don’t stop.”
“I’ll never stop. No matter what, I’ll always want to be right here more than I want to be anywhere else.”
She held on tight to him, riding the waves of pleasure to another explosive finish. Every time they made love, she held out hope that maybe this time they’d conceive. But if they never did, she could live with that disappointment as long as she had Nick and Scotty to love.