The Power and the Glory Read online

  Then, as if she knew she was the focus of his thoughts, Aspyn looked up from her huddle over one of the computers and gave him a half smile that almost echoed her earlier smiles of “appreciation” before she looked away.

  Damn it. That sealed it. Since he couldn’t get anything done with her here—and she showed no signs of going home—he’d leave. He liked to be around; it kept him on top of things and in the loop, but he could stay in the loop via email or phone. He had a good staff; they could certainly handle it for the rest of the day.

  Lauren sputtered in disbelief when he told her he was leaving for the day. He saw her surreptitiously doublecheck his calendar as if looking for a reason why. He couldn’t explain logically why he needed to leave, so he didn’t provide an answer to her unspoken question. He also knew he should deal with Aspyn now, but he didn’t quite trust himself in his current mood. Provided his entire staff didn’t quit overnight, he’d sort it all out tomorrow.

  Good Lord, he really needed to get a life. The campaign was consuming him. And as much as he hated to admit either of his brothers could be right about anything, both Finn and Ethan had called his attention to it recently. He was working too hard and not playing at all.

  Once the election was over—relieving some of the stress—he’d investigate reinvigorating his social life, because that was the only explanation he could come up with to make sense of this whole Aspyn thing. Celibacy and isolation obviously weren’t good for him.

  Because the only other explanation was that he was losing his mind.

  He was out the door and nearly to his car when he heard her calling.

  “Brady, wait!”

  In a flash of déjà vu, Aspyn caught up to him, matched her pace to his and just started talking. The next step would be handcuffs, and his reaction today would be much different than last time … He forced himself to focus. “What are you talking about?”

  “The senator. When should I plan to meet with him? Lauren told me to ask you.”

  “I’m sure he’ll come by HQ at some point. You can introduce yourself then.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Not meet him, Brady. Meet with him. I want to be sure I’m really prepared and up to speed on everything before I do. I know I’ll need to meet with you first—after you’ve had a chance to look over the report I’m preparing, of course,” she added as they turned the corner of the building into the deserted back parking lot, “but I want—”

  He held up a hand. “This is a very busy time. Congress is still in special session and the senator is trying to conduct the country’s business and campaign to keep his seat. I doubt he’ll have that kind of time until after the election.” Brady unlocked his door, tossed his briefcase inside, then turned back to face her—leaving the car door open in the hope she’d take the hint. “Sift through everything and write up what you feel is important. Give it to me, and I’ll pass it along to the right staffer.”

  Aspyn ignored his hint, leaning against the car instead and crossing her arms over her chest. “That seems to blatantly contradict everything you’ve said to the press and everyone else for the last couple of days.”

  “No.” He chose his words carefully. “You are a part of this campaign. Your data will be used to help us tailor and target appropriately. However, nothing can happen in practice until after the election. That is when the data you collect now will be … useful. There’s a big difference between campaigning and actually governing.”

  Her lips thinned into an irritated line.

  “Aspyn, I appreciate your enthusiasm. I really do. So does the senator, but …”

  “But what?”

  He sighed. “First, you need to focus on your position and let the others do the jobs they were hired for. We work as a team, but they know what they’re doing and you don’t yet.” He waited for her to nod her understanding. “Second, you need to … realize the limitations. There’s a bigger picture here. I know you don’t see it yet, but that’s what I have to concentrate on. Change doesn’t happen overnight.” She thought for a moment and nodded. “I see.” It was too much to hope. “Do you really?” “No, actually, I don’t. I was humoring you.” Good Lord. “I wish you wouldn’t do that.” “And I wish you wouldn’t patronize me. I’m not stupid.” “I never said you were,” he tried to interject, but Aspyn kept talking over him.

  “I get the feeling you don’t like me very much, but I am a part of this campaign now—”

  The first part of that statement caught him off guard. “Wait.” Surprisingly the flood of words stopped. “What makes you think I don’t like you?”

  She shrugged. “It’s obvious you don’t really want me working here.”

  “Those are two completely different issues.” Aspyn blew out her breath in a noisy sigh. “Well, that wasn’t exactly the strong denial I was hoping for.”

  He needed a drink. Now. “Is there a point to this conversation, Aspyn?”

  She thought for a moment, then stood up straight and squared her shoulders. “Yes, there is. In just a few days, I’ve discovered how little I know about politics or how Congress works. I can’t work within the system to effect change if I don’t understand how the system works. There’s so much I need to learn. You said it yourself. And I think you’re the right person to teach me.”

  She’d placed her hand on his arm as she spoke and the combination of her touch and his body’s deliberate misinterpretation of what kinds of lessons Aspyn wanted sent his blood rushing south. Every muscle in his body tensed.

  Aspyn pulled her hand back like she’d been burned. She paused and the silence stretched out. Finally she asked, “Do you believe in Fate, Brady?”

  “No.”

  “Well, I do.” Impatience tinged her words. “And I’ve been thinking all afternoon that since Fate brought us together, it must want us to accomplish something. Together.”

  “No, your friend Kirby and his damn handcuffs brought us toge—” He cleared his throat. “Brought all this on.”

  “But you just said you have to look at the big picture. Can you not imagine me in that picture anywhere?”

  At this moment, he could imagine Aspyn just fine. Naked. Head thrown back in pleasure, curls bouncing … He forced the image out of his head and tried to focus on what she was saying.

  “You may not like me very much, but I like you. Most of the time,” she clarified. “But I think our differences are what make this … situation so unique. The things I think you and I could do together—the things we could learn from each other—don’t require that we actually like each other.”

  Had she been planning this little speech? Intentionally choosing words that his overheated body could warp into something completely inappropriate for their “situation?” Though Aspyn’s face was usually so readable, he didn’t trust his instincts at the moment to read it properly. But Aspyn was closer to him than really necessary, and her green eyes were wide …

  And if he was wrong, the repercussions could be ugly. He should step back, put proper professional distance—both literal and metaphorical—between them. There were plenty of people on his staff who could answer Aspyn’s questions, teach her whatever it was she hoped to learn …

  But even as his rational brain worked through the shoulds, his hands were on her arms, and he was pulling her closer to him. Aspyn rose on her toes to meet him halfway, and her body pressed against his, narrowing his “big picture” to something very, very specific.

  Her mouth was soft, her lips parting to receive him, and the heat he found there scorched his soul. There was no hesitancy, no holding back, just the intensity of her desire that swept over him as she took and gave in equal measure. The honesty in her response was a powerful aphrodisiac, making the blood roar in his ears as he lost himself in the fire she sparked.

  His hands slid to her waist, anchoring her against him, as her arms twined around his shoulders and tightened to support herself as she melted into him. The kiss grew deeper, taking on a life of its own, hungry and powerf
ul and demanding. Her breasts pressed against his chest, and her hips aligned to his as he slid his hands over her back to her shoulders …

  What the hell am I doing?

  It took all he had to break the kiss, untangling her arms from his neck, and setting her firmly a safe distance away. He took deep breaths, willing his body back under control, fisting his hands to keep from reaching for her again.

  Aspyn blinked in confusion. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, and passion colored her cheeks. Her breaths were uneven and shaky, more proof of desire his body didn’t need while he could still taste her. She licked her lips—still moist and swollen—and swallowed hard, sending another slash of fire through him. “Brady? Is something …”

  “That shouldn’t have happened.” He cleared his throat and tugged his coat back into place. “My apologies, Aspyn. It won’t happen again.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  BRADY’S words hit her like a slap across the face. One second he was kissing her like … like … like she was the very air he needed to exist, and now he was apologizing for it?

  She was still shaking with desire, and he was adjusting his cuffs like nothing had happened. That was the closest she’d ever come to feeling the earth move and Brady was … clearly unmoved.

  Her lips were moving—she could feel them because they were still tingling—but no words were coming out.

  Aspyn didn’t know exactly when her purpose had shifted—she certainly hadn’t chased Brady outside with this on her mind—but … Wow. Just wow. That had been a kiss to top all kisses ever.

  At least for her.

  She’d been right: the body under that expensive suit was spectacular. She’d had every inch of her body pressed against it and the planes and shapes were seared into her skin. And she now knew that polished, urbane, buttoned-up exterior was partly window dressing; she’d tasted the real Brady underneath that facade—the earthy, primal man at his core—and it had awakened something in her.

  And now he was rejecting her.

  That sliced deep.

  Brady opened his mouth to say something else, but she cut him off.

  “Don’t apologize.” She didn’t want to hear it. In fact, it might just kill her to hear it again. “I’ll just go back inside now.” Her legs weren’t quite steady, but they managed to work well enough to get her around the corner and out of Brady’s sight before they failed and she had to lean against the building for support.

  She’d obviously read that situation all wrong, and that brought everything else she thought she knew about the current state of events into question. She’d talked herself out of a crush just hours ago only to end up kissing him. Which, obviously, was a mistake.

  Well, as far as her libido was concerned that kiss was far from a mistake, but she needed to listen to a far more rational part of herself. Her instincts—and her hormones—couldn’t be trusted, it seemed.

  So much for all that talk about “professional distance.” How was she supposed to face him now, much less work for him? The humiliation and confusion made her feel a little sick as they clashed with the residual desire still curling through her.

  She took a deep breath and fanned her face. Then she pushed off the wall and straightened her clothes. Brady’s car came around the corner and turned in the opposite direction as she opened the door to HQ.

  She still believed that Fate had brought her here, but Fate could be cruel sometimes. But since Fate couldn’t have given her a more literal sign of “moving on,” that’s what she should do.

  By Thursday, Aspyn had half-convinced herself The Kiss was just an aberration, no big deal, and that she could just put it out of her mind and move on.

  Well, not totally out of her mind. That kiss had rocked her world, and her nerves were primed and on full alert. She’d let Margo make her a valerian tisane—and she drank every last drop—to try to take the edge off, but the results weren’t exactly as effective as she’d hoped for. Residual desire hummed through her, making her distracted and irritable, and no herbal remedy could counteract the effects of Brady’s kiss.

  Of course, the one thing that should have helped—the total absence of Brady for the last couple of days—wasn’t working, either. She didn’t necessarily relish the idea of facing him—wasn’t sure how she could—but facing him would give her a clue of how things were in his mind and how he expected to go on from here. Well, he’d made it clear what direction things wouldn’t be going, but would he acknowledge it? Pretend it didn’t happen? She needed that line drawn, needed to create the boundary, and she couldn’t do that while Brady was off in different parts of the state.

  His absence meant she didn’t have her footing yet, so instead of being able to concentrate, all it had done was make her jumpy and off-center. The suspense was killing her. And the physical response she couldn’t get under control wasn’t helping, either.

  While the kiss hadn’t meant anything to him, something she’d said to Brady on Monday must have made an impact, because on Tuesday morning, Matthew—who used to be someone she only barely interacted with—became her new best friend.

  He was young, only a couple of years out of college, but Matthew seemed to know pretty much everything. He had a degree in Political Science with a minor in History. He’d worked as a Congressional Page and later as an intern. He knew everybody and everything and no matter what question Aspyn asked, he seemed to have a ready—and understandable—answer.

  Lauren, supposedly, was the one who sent Matthew to tutor her, but Aspyn knew Brady had to be the impetus. It annoyed her on a basic level, but how could she really complain about it? She’d made her case for wanting to learn, and he’d provided a teacher.

  Matthew helped her smooth the feathers she’d ruffled and got her back on good terms with the rest of the staff. Then, he set himself to the task of educating her about how things really worked in the system, and Aspyn was getting a better picture of where she’d been going wrong before.

  Like the importance of a clear set of defined objectives; the broad spectrum ideals—like she’d been dealing with at PPI—had to be narrowed and focused in order to make people want to listen. And how she needed to think about possible solutions—and ramifications of those solutions—if she wanted people to take her seriously. Matthew was patient as he battered her optimism and idealism with reality, but things were starting to make sense.

  Even if she didn’t like it much. Like now.

  “It’s not that simple, Aspyn—”

  “It should be. Either we value the First Amendment or we don’t.”

  “But the question of what to do when your rights infringe upon the rights of others can’t be ignored, either.” The patient, placating tone of his voice irked her. “I promise you, if you send that report as is, you’re shooting yourself in the foot.”

  “The whole purpose of writing this report is to bring these kinds of issues to the senator’s attention.”

  “Senator Marshall is not a magician. In an ideal world, your argument makes sense, but we don’t live in an ideal world.”

  “Duh.” She pointed at her computer. “Case in point, right here.”

  “And I’m telling you, your narrow view isn’t going to work.”

  Shock caused her jaw to drop, but outrage followed quickly enough to close it. “Narrow? My views are not narrow. I’m as broad-minded as they come.”

  Someone called Matthew’s name. “Then try to see the bigger picture,” Matthew advised, before he went to see what they needed.

  Aspyn let the cursor hover over the send button. Attached to the email was her first official report to Brady on the issues considered most important by likely voters—with an addendum on issues she thought were particularly interesting or important, whether or not they had wide support. Matthew may have taken issue with some of it, but she still felt the need to send it as it was. This “bigger picture” argument was really starting to annoy the hell out of her. Half the problems in this country were directly caused by D.C.’s
need to weasel everything to death. Rights shouldn’t be debatable, yet somehow they were. She took a deep breath as she hit Send. Her optimism wasn’t going down without a fight, damn it.

  Next on her agenda for the day was the information Matthew had left with her about the bills coming up for a vote soon. She was still behind the curve, but she planned to catch up eventually.

  The bell over the door jingled and she looked up as a dark-haired woman came in. Everyone else seemed hunched over phones or in the middle of something, so Aspyn went to greet her. “Hi. Can I help you?”

  The woman didn’t look like she was from Capitol Hill; jeans and a sweater might fly here at HQ, but definitely not in the city. Plus, her attitude was far too casual. Probably not the press, either. A new volunteer? A constituent? “I’d like to see Brady,” the woman said with a bright smile.

  Join the club. “Sorry, but he’s not here. Can someone else help you?”

  She shook her head, causing a long, shiny ponytail to curve over her shoulder. Aspyn had serious hair envy. “No, it’s personal business. Not campaign stuff. I’m Lily Black.” Lily’s smile turned proud and pleased as she held up her left hand to show a very impressive piece of bling. “Soon to be Lily Marshall, though.”

  “Oh.” Aspyn’s heart hit her stomach like a rock. Oh. “You’re Brady’s …?” The thought she’d kissed another woman’s fiancé, even accidentally …

  “Oh, no.” Lily made a sound suspiciously like a snort. “No, no, dear God, no. There are three Marshall boys—Brady, Ethan and Finn. Ethan’s mine.”

  Of course she knew Brady had brothers. She wanted to smack herself at her overreaction. Although … A fiancée would help explain Brady’s strange reaction to that kiss, but the relief flowing through her that he didn’t was stronger than her need for an explanation. “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. I still can’t quite believe it myself.” Lily stopped and cocked her head to the side. “Have we met before? Your face seems so familiar for some reason.”

  “We haven’t met, but I’m Aspyn Breedlove. I’m the—”