Chapter 34
Xander
Senator Fitzgerald Alders wasn’t exactly a friend, but I’d met him so many times that we were friendly. And he was an effective
tool in getting the Senate inquiry opened on the Hightowers.
“I had my secretary take care of everything so it shouldn’t be a problem now,” Fitzgerald said, looking over the visa documents
in question. “Sorry you had to deal with this, but the concern came from high up.”
“From?” I asked as Penelope and I got up from our seats at the end of his desk.
“You know I can’t tell you that.” Fitzgerald handed the papers back to Penelope.
The Alders family was the epitome of honesty—at least publicly. High society nicknamed them “the quiet Kennedys”—in that none
of their dirty laundry ever made it out of the house.
“We’re terribly sorry for the mess,” Penelope apologized, putting the documents away.
“Really, it’s no trouble.” He got up from behind his desk and motioned to the door. “But if you’d like to return the favor,
convince my cousin to run.”
Penelope looked between us speculatively.
“Sorry.” I slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Work would be a lot less interesting without Tristan.”
“I had to try.” Fitzgerald chuckled and looked to Penelope.
“And congratulations, Fitz,” Penelope added just as she turned to the door, looking over her shoulder. “I saw your stellar
cross-examination of the Hightower executives. Terrible for the firm but you certainly looked presidential.”
Fitzgerald shot a quick questioning look to me, but the classic politician smile came back in a flash. Good thing, because
my mind kept replaying her calling him Fitz .
We said our goodbyes and turned to walk down the hallway. “I didn’t know you were so close to the senator,” I said. Why were they on a nickname basis?
“Maya’s close to the whole family and I’ve helped her with a few things that were Alders adjacent over the years,” she noted
offhandedly as we stopped at the elevators. “I went to the Newport house. It’s lovely.”
I pressed the down button. “You stayed with them?”
She sighed, sounding almost bored. “Last summer.”
“Last summer?” I repeated. That was when she was apparently too busy to come to the Hamptons with us.
“You sound surprised. Rohan is close to them, too,” Penelope added as she typed something on her phone.
Rohan and his little sister, Maya, were close to the Alders family. And all of what she was saying made perfect sense. I knew the envy was misplaced. It was stupid
to be jealous. And yet...
“Is that why you and Tristan are close?” I spat. “Maya?”
“I’d hardly say we’re close. But Tristan is kind and dependable. A good friend to have.” She rolled her eyes and kept texting.
I ignored the fact that she was right, and I owed a lot to Tristan for his unwavering loyalty.
“You just described a golden retriever,” I scoffed.
I was not this guy. I didn’t get possessive and territorial. But she stirred something primal in me, a need to keep her all
to myself.
“Did I?” She lifted a brow. A knowing smile curved along her cheek. She knew she was driving me crazy.
“You’re not jealous of the good senator, are you?” she teased. She clicked the side of her phone and tucked it in her purse.
“Of course not,” I grumbled. “There’s nothing to be jealous of.”
“I don’t know about that.” She reached for my tie and neatly fastened the knot. The gentle pressure sent a ripple through
my body. The elevator rang and jostled to a stop. “He is rather handsome, isn’t he?”
A spark lit in her eyes.
I grabbed her hand right as the elevator opened. If she wanted to play a game, we could play.
My eyes darted around the hallway, and I saw an open office. Without any explanation, I pulled her into it. Sex in a public
place was on the list.
“I’m sure the campaign strategist won’t mind,” I told her, locking the door behind us. The dark office looked like it hadn’t
been used in months. Maps and rolled-up posters were littered in the corners and hanging on the walls.
“Xander.” Penelope’s eyes went wide in warning. But the look in them revealed she wanted to spar.
I loosened my tie. “Don’t act innocent when you started this.”
She pressed her lips together, but the corners of her mouth tipped up. “I guess you’re right. But you have to admit the Alders
men are quite polished.”
A few streams of light peeked through the closed blinds, casting shadows along her cheek.
“Poppy...” I warned, and gripping her hips I pushed her gently until she stepped up against the desk.
She smoothed her palms over my lapels, looking up at me innocently. “Some women find that attractive.”
My hands moved under her skirt; I ran a finger along the satin that spanned the curve of her hips. They slowly rolled against
me.
I leaned in and whispered along her neck. “Poppy.”
My thumb grazed along her clit and her breath hitched.
That was all it took to feel my pants become impossibly tight, my cock pushing against my zipper.
Fuck, the things this woman did to me. It was a look. A bated breath. A shaky sigh and I was done for.
“I never said that I—” She sputtered, the pleasure cracking fissures in her words. Her eyes closed, her teeth running over
her bottom lip as her hands braced on my shoulders. “I never said I was one of those women.”
My thumb pressed harder against her clit. Each swipe a little firmer, her fists pulled against my jacket.
“Then, why are you instigating?”
A few soft whimpers began to blend together when I refused to give her a second of reprieve.
“I...”
She leaned forward so her groin ground against the base of my hand, her lips pressed against my shoulder, muting her moans.
I pushed the panties aside and I sank a finger into her.
“Is it because you want a reaction?” I goaded her on. Tiny sparks popped all along my muscles, she felt so fucking good. I
fought the strong urge to sink myself into her, my cock beating in cadence with my heart’s drumbeat.
“Or a reminder...” I gritted out. Her pussy clamped around my finger, tight and wet, and I pushed another finger in, using
the base of my hand to rub her clit. “Of who does this to you?”
Rocking back and forth, quickening the tempo, her skin sheened with a thin layer of sweat.
“Xander...” she moaned softly.
I moved harder and faster, twisting and curling my fingers until her walls tightened and rippled around them.
She shook as the orgasm crashed over her, letting out a muffled shriek into my shoulder.
I kept moving until the jerks and tiny tremors subsided, her body leaned further into mine, fucked limp by my fingers.
“Sit on the desk,” I whispered impatiently, needing to bury myself inside of her. “And spread your legs.”
“No.” Her heavy-lidded eyes looked up to mine as she slowly pulled away.
They didn’t leave mine for a second, stuck in a heated stare as she pulled my hand out of her. I watched as she took it, opened
her mouth, and sucked my drenched fingers clean.
Fuck.
“On the desk,” I grated out more forcefully this time.
She shook her head again, running her tongue along the pads of my fingers as she released them. The defiance in her eyes burrowed
down to the base of my hips.
Fuck.
“No.” Her calm tone warred with uneven breaths and flushed skin as her agile fingers made quick work of my belt.
“Poppy.” The strength in my warning crumbled with a deep shudder.
“Careful with that tone, darling ,” she whispered softly in my ear while she got my rigid cock out of my pants and stroked it slowly. “Remember who you’re
talking to.”
She sank down to her knees.
Electricity shot up my spine at the fucking sight of her. There was nothing hotter than when Penelope initiated. When she made it known that she wanted something.
I grasped her chin and tilted her head up to me. “I’m talking to my wife .”
She licked her lips and instead of a sultry retort, she slid my cock slowly into her mouth, her eyes never leaving mine.
Chills ran down my body. My fingers tangled into her hair.
“That’s it, Poppy.” I let out a long, pleasure-filled sigh.
Encouraging her to go deeper, she eagerly complied. Stacking her hands on each other as she bobbed and occasionally choked
trying to get my shaft entirely inside of her.
The pressure at the base of my spine grew more impatient as she pumped, sucked, and grazed her teeth along my length.
“You look good like that,” I groaned, trying to hold on even a little longer; the tableau of her was too gratifying to lose
just yet.
She was mine. In Singapore. In Manhattan. In a government building, coming on my hand, then sucking on my cock.
All mine .
And I couldn’t let her go.
She hummed, sending unruly vibrations along my shaft. My fist closed in her hair.
Fuck. I was close.
“Poppy,” I warned. It only spurred her on. She moved faster and deeper until I couldn’t hold out any longer.
Every synapse erupted with pleasure and following a guttural grunt, I released in her mouth. A mix of sweltering heat and
satisfying chills moved through me. She continued to bob up and down, slowing just as my vision started to clear.
Her hair was a mess around my hand. She looked up and the column of her throat shifted as she swallowed. Only then did she
smile as she released me.
The world went from moving in slow motion back to reality. She stood up and I caught my breath. Realizing exactly where we were, we quickly got ourselves together.
“This little hiccup was rather fun.” She tightened my tie. She smiled, doing a final check then reached for the door. “If
this is the best Silas can do, then I’m not worried. We can wait him out the year.”
In that moment, I found another way to ease her mind. I opened my mouth to tell Penelope about my plans for SunCorp—we had
an advantage we could levy against Silas. But then closed it. My plans had always been risky, but if SunCorp fell through,
all of this would be for nothing. And while I trusted Penelope implicitly, she was a lawyer—and a lawyer who had once represented
Dawn Capital, and still worked for the same firm that represented Hightower. Getting her involved at this stage would be irresponsible.
I needed to get the remaining pieces lined up, and once I was sure the deal was solid, I’d tell her everything.
I would need to meet with Herrera again and nudge him along. In that moment, I remembered something else. Something Penelope
might love. Something to show her just how serious I could be when it came to her when saying it felt impossible. That if
it was a matter of waiting for her to feel the way I did, I’d wait as long as she needed—anything to not lose her.
“Come with me to Jalisco next week.”
“Jalisco?” She opened the door and took a look down the hall.
We walked out back into the hallway casually, like we hadn’t just had sex in a government building. I put an arm around her
waist. “I’m closing a deal with Herrera, and I need to get it done as soon as possible.”
She took my hand. “Alright.”
I’d tell her once it was all sealed and done. Right now, everything felt so fragile. It felt like a dream and I would do anything
not to wake up.