At the Pleasure of the President Read online

  Because she was so fucking soft and perfect, and the rest of the world couldn’t begin to compare to what he felt when he was with her. With Elizabeth, he didn’t have to be in control every second. He didn’t have to put on a bland face and compromise. She was the only place where he could simply be Zack Hayes.

  Would he end up taking her down with him?

  “Please, Zack.” Her quiet plea jerked him from his dark thoughts, and he shoved them all aside in favor of the task at hand. He’d been right. The table was the perfect height. All he had to do was lean forward to be exactly where he wanted. He breathed hot on her pussy.

  “Oh my god,” she said.

  “Is everyone okay?” The tour guide sounded startled, then she laughed. “I know it’s very exciting, but let’s keep it down so everyone can hear. If you’ll look to your left, you’ll see the lovely pattern commissioned for the Hayes administration. The president has excellent taste, as you can see.”

  “Yes, I do.” He whispered the words against her sensitive flesh right before he dragged his tongue over her clitoris.

  This was the real jewel of his White House, the one thing that got him up and moving every morning. Elizabeth was the reason he now woke up happy and prepared to face the most stressful job on the planet. She grounded him. He’d moved long past ambition and power. He wanted to be the man she looked up to, the one she needed and trusted.

  He licked at her, loving the way she tasted, how readily she responded. She’d already been slick before he’d even touched her, as though she could hear his need in his voice and responded by making herself ready for his pleasure.

  He pulled back slightly but teased her with his thumb, rubbing her clit in gentle circles. “Do you want more, Elizabeth?”

  “You know I do. I want everything.” She leaned back, balancing her palms against the table and giving him complete access to her body.

  Elizabeth was the perfect erotic picture of wanton need.

  Zack sprung to his feet because he wanted everything, too. Now. He couldn’t withstand more than a couple of hours without her. He’d always thought of himself as strong, but his need for her made him so, so weak…

  His fingers trembled as he tore into his belt buckle, then made quick work of his zipper. He’d had a lot of practice lately. Without any hesitation or fuss, he shoved his boxers and slacks down, not bothering to wince when the buckle hit the floor with a clang. He didn’t care if everyone outside the door heard as long as no one bothered them.

  Elizabeth’s head had snapped up, her eyes shining in the dim light as she pushed herself off the table. “Not yet. Let’s see how quiet you can be.”

  The challenge in her gaze had him biting back a groan as she dropped to her knees, skirt still bunched around her hips.

  He adored the way she lost her ladylike demeanor when she got hot. Elizabeth was never polite in bed. She demanded her pleasure and gave it back to him tenfold.

  As she wrapped her slender fingers around his cock and her grip tightened on him, his eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head. He bit back a groan.

  “Not so easy, huh?” she whispered before that talented tongue of hers swiped across the head of his cock.

  “No.” Not easy at all since he wanted to shout out. Dizzying arousal and heat sizzled along his skin as he stared down, watching his erection disappear between her lips. Her hand worked the base as she stroked him with her tongue, and he nearly lost his mind.

  His whole body was taut, ready to go off, but he held on to his willpower, wanting this to last as long as he could manage. It would be hours before he could hold her again. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from sinking his hands into her hair and forcing her to take a little more.

  Damn, she was a siren.

  “I can be quiet, baby,” he promised. “But the truth is I don’t care who knows what we’re doing. I’ve got this gorgeous, intelligent lady who comes behind me whenever I make a mistake and fixes things. How do you think she would fix it if I got caught fucking in the china closet in the middle of a work day? I think anyone who sees you would understand.”

  Her eyes flashed, but he sank deeper into her mouth, letting his head fall back as ecstasy climbed.

  This was an excellent way to prevent any further arguments.

  He closed his eyes and let himself sink into the moment. In the past, he sometimes worried he’d missed out. He hadn’t fucked his way through half the female population like Mad and Gabe. He hadn’t seen the world with the same freedom as Dax and Connor. He’d had to be disciplined, keep a tight rein on all of his desires. Sometimes he’d resented his friends for having all the personal freedom he hadn’t, but it had been worth every sacrifice in the end because nothing in the world would ever feel as good as this woman now giving all of herself to him.

  Just when he thought he couldn’t feel any better, Elizabeth reached out and cupped his balls, cradling them in the warmth of her small hand.

  Dear god, he couldn’t take another second. If she sucked him deep one more time, he wouldn’t be able to hold out, and he didn’t want to come in her mouth. He wanted to be deep inside her. One with her.

  He tugged gently on her hair as he heard the guide saying something about being treated to a Secret Service presence.

  “They aren’t normally securing the China Room,” she said. “They usually stick close to the president, so this is a treat for you.”

  Elizabeth bit back a laugh as he hauled her upright and set her back on the table, then moved in between her legs. Let the tour group have their fun. It was time for theirs.

  “I’ve got a treat for you.” He gripped her luscious ass and started to work his way inside her. It didn’t matter how many times he made love to Elizabeth, it always was a revelation. She was always tight and hot and perfect.

  She always felt like home.

  Elizabeth glanced toward the door, renewed hesitation and anxiety in her eyes.

  He wasn’t having that. “You keep your attention on me. Nothing else matters except us.”

  Her eyes softened, taking on that look that never failed to make him feel like he was ten feet tall. “Us.”

  He thrust in and held tight, fitting their mouths together. He didn’t want an inch of distance between them. Instead, he stroked in and out of her with both his cock and his tongue.

  Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him. Sure enough, he felt her nails dig in as she started to climb higher. Her breathing picked up, a sweet sound that would haunt him until his dying day.

  He held her close as her whole body tensed just before she clamped down around him. Then, nails digging at his back, she gave her pleasure over to him and released.

  Then it was his turn. He focused on her alone. It was like this with Elizabeth every single time. Heart chugging, blood pumping, veins sizzling as he climbed… Then he felt the orgasm roll over him, suffusing his body with energy and ecstasy. But in the end it was all about her. In that one moment, he was utterly connected to her. As he poured himself into her body, Zack knew he wasn’t alone. As long as he had her, he never would be.

  As he bucked into her, he knew damn well the table shook with the power of his thrusts. A breathy moan fell from her mouth, but she was too far gone to care. She moved her hips as though desperate to spend every last second of connection with him.

  Moments later, he panted as he slumped against her and remained close for a long, calming moment, listening to the sound of her respiration and heartbeat starting to normalize.

  “I don’t know. Maybe someone is moving something heavy in that room. Now, if you’ll come this way, I’ll show you the library. There are some very interesting items to discuss there.” The guide’s voice started to fade away.

  “That was close,” Liz murmured, her hands smoothing back his hair.

  He kissed her again. “No. Thomas would never have let them in. I promise.”

  She winced when he withdrew and stepped away. “I’m still trying to get used to the fact that T
homas is standing outside the door.”

  “He’s always outside the door, baby.” He tucked himself back into his slacks before she tempted him again. “Now go back to work. Don’t you have responsibilities, Ms. Matthews?”

  Her eyes narrowed as she hopped down and pulled at her skirt. “You mean besides taking a shower and finding new undies?”

  She was so adorable when she was irritated.

  He leaned over and kissed her on the bridge of her nose. “You do that. Hey, maybe I should join you.”

  She pushed at his chest, laughing. “You have an appointment with Roman. I’ll see you tonight.”

  She opened the door, poking her head out.

  “The coast is clear, Ms. Matthews. Well, mostly clear,” Thomas said.

  “What the hell?” Roman. His chief of staff had come looking for him.

  Well, it wasn’t like he hadn’t found Roman in compromising positions before.

  “Sorry. Zack and I, um…needed to talk about something private,” she stammered. “I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.”

  Zack watched her practically run away.

  “Really, Zack? In the China Room?” Roman braced his hands on his hips as he glared Zack’s way. “Is nothing sacred?”

  “It’s my house.”

  “It’s the people’s house.”

  Zack shrugged. “Well, I’m occupying it, and that means I get to do fun stuff in it. I assure you presidents have had sex in the White House before. Lots of sex. Way more than me.”

  “Well, you’re making up for it now. She forgot something. You might want to grab that or the staff will wonder who’s been here.” Roman pointed behind him.

  A scrap of lace lay on the floor and Zack scooped it up, easing her panties into the pocket of his pants. He grinned, feeling lighter than he had. Perfectly content to go about his business for the rest of the day.

  “Thanks for the save.” He looked at his chief of staff, who still wore a frown. “So what’s shoved up your ass this afternoon, and why hasn’t Gus fixed that yet?”

  Roman glowered. “I don’t know that I like the new Zack.”

  He shrugged. It was also good to know he could shock his oldest friend from time to time. “Get used to it. Walk with me.”

  Roman fell into step beside him. “I need to talk to you.”

  “You always need to talk to me. We work together.”

  “Zack, I’m serious. I visited the bunker and talked to Mad. He and Sara have found some ties your grandfather had to some interesting people.”

  And just like that his good mood was blown. “The syndicate?”

  Roman pressed his lips together. “You know your grandfather started out in the state senate.”

  Of course. “He represented Little Odessa in the beginning.” It was an area also known as Brighton Beach, a working-class district. But his grandfather’s family had decided it would be an easy way to get into state politics since they had Russian ancestors. “That’s not a surprise.”

  “No, but Mad managed to find records of political donations to his campaign.”

  “God, tell me it wasn’t Krylov.”

  “I wish I could,” Roman replied. “Look, it’s a whisper right now, nothing more. But it does suggest that they could have been applying this pressure to your family for a very long time. It also explains why your grandfather wanted your father to take that position in Moscow instead of the British post.”

  He’d told Roman all about the talk he’d had with his father. They’d made careful notes. Not careful enough for his chief of staff, who’d been upset that Zack hadn’t come to him first. Roman would be even more upset if he knew he’d already told Elizabeth about the conversation. After he’d made love to her, he’d held her close and let out everything that had happened between himself and his father. He admitted how worried he was. She’d lain her head on his chest and promised she would be with him through anything that came their way.

  He’d actually slept that night. It had been such a surprise to open his eyes when the alarm went off and feel so rested.

  “Zack, nothing’s changed, you know,” Roman said quietly. “I hate to be the bad guy here, but we still have no idea if Liz is involved in this mess. She talked to Gus last night about putting off our interview and denying the story.”

  “Because she’s worried about some threats Paul Harding made.”

  “Or she’s gotten new orders.”

  “Why would she have laid out such a perfect plan for handling the threats against me if she was working with the enemy?” He was getting sick of Roman’s constant suspicion. “You agreed to the plan. You thought it was brilliant.”

  “Yes,” Roman agreed. “It was brilliant, and it’s also an excellent way to quiet any worries that she might be working against us. How long was she alone with Paul?”

  Here they went again. “I have no idea. I only know that what he said upset her.”

  “Did anyone else see or hear this conversation?”

  “Of course not. Paul is too wily to threaten me in front of a group of people. Besides, he was already in her office when she got there.”

  “He felt comfortable enough to just wander into her office? She doesn’t keep it locked? I find that interesting. She’s got a lot of sensitive material in there.” Roman’s voice was a snake inside his head, rattling and slithering.

  Elizabeth also had a lot of people come in and out of her office all day because they needed things from inside. She was smart. She wouldn’t simply leave sensitive materials out in the open, and she would have her laptop locked down. “I wouldn’t want Paul standing around and talking to the press staff. I’m fine with the fact he waited for her. Yes, I hear you. You don’t trust her and you wish I would focus on my job. You’ve made that point abundantly clear, Roman. I’m getting bored by it.”

  “Do you think I want to disappoint you? I told you I hate being the bad guy, but damn it, you’re not some salesman who might lose a couple of bucks if your girlfriend is trying to take your leads. You’re the president and the whole country loses if you aren’t vigilant.”

  He turned on his friend. “Do you think I don’t know that?”

  “I worry that you’re distracted, Mr. President.”

  Anger thrummed through his system, a rage he could barely keep contained. All his life he’d waited for an ounce of fucking happiness. Now that he’d finally managed to find some, Roman was determined to shit all over it. But Zack bit back his attitude. Barely. Instead, he took a long breath and smoothed out his suit, well aware that a hallway wasn’t the place to have this argument.

  In fact, right now there was no good place to have it out with Roman. He needed space. “I’ll get back to work then.”

  Roman sighed. “Can we talk? Let’s have lunch and discuss this.”

  So his best friend could drag Elizabeth through the mud some more? “I’ll pass. After all, it’s been pointed out to me that I don’t work enough. I’ll see you tonight when we get together with the others.”

  Roman called out his name, but Zack didn’t turn around.

  He simply kept walking to his office and never looked back.

  Chapter Eleven

  Liz stood outside the door to the Red Room and wondered briefly what Jackie Kennedy would have thought about the current connotations of “red room.” This particular room of the White House had been decorated in scarlet shades since the Polk administration, and over the years luminaries like Louis Comfort Tiffany had been commissioned to renovate it. The stunning room was picture perfect, all done in crimsons and golds, with classic Empire-style furniture and drapes.

  It was also where the women had gathered this evening. Liz hesitated to join them because she wasn’t sure she really belonged.

  “Is something wrong?” a soft voice asked from behind her. “Please tell me we’re not getting kicked out. I’ve been cooped up in that bunker for a week, and it’s driving me crazy. I can’t go back yet.”

  Liz turned to fi
nd Sara Bond in the hallway. She looked elegant in her plain sheath with her hair pinned up, despite the fact that she wore very little makeup and the swell of her belly was no longer deniable.

  What would it feel like to be pregnant? To be having Zack’s child? Would it make her feel closer to him? Or would she simply be more worried about the future of their relationship?

  Liz stepped back. “No, I was just thinking I should skip this party and get back to work. Go ahead. I know you ladies have a lot to catch up on.”

  “If by ‘catching up’ you mean everyone asking whether or not I’ve forgiven Mad, then I’m sure we do.” Sara brushed back a tuft of hair that had escaped her twist. “Come with me. If you’re feeling like you don’t belong because your relationship with Zack is new, don’t. In a lot of ways, you’ve been a couple for years. All of us have known you two would get together. It was only a matter of time. If anything, I’m the one who doesn’t belong, but I had to get out of that bunker, especially when the guys all descended like well-dressed wolves. Everly escorted me up here since it’s after hours and I’m not the one who’s supposed to be dead.”

  The men were gathering down in the bunker so the staff didn’t spot Mad. But as Sara pointed out, it wasn’t a problem if anyone saw her, so Liz wasn’t sure why Gabe’s sister hadn’t been allowed out of the bunker before now. “Did you ask why you’ve been locked up?”

  Sara waved the question away. “Zack did that for Mad’s sake. It’s another one of his plots.”

  Of course. “I’ll get you a room outside the bunker.”

  Sara paused, looking thoughtful for a moment. “Don’t. It’s been good for us. We’re talking again and that will benefit our daughter.”

  “I’m happy to hear it.” Gus approached, bottle of vodka in hand. “Head on in. We won’t have long, and I want to make sure we exchange all the necessary information before the boys realize they shouldn’t have insisted we stay out of their discussion. We need privacy, ladies, so we’re serving ourselves tonight, but Lara is a surprisingly good bartender.”