Loving the Candidate (Capitol Affairs #2) (13 page)

“Oh, Ashe, you scared me,” I said, as I grabbed my chest “I didn’t expect anyone here. Have you seen Alex?” I pulled the robe tighter to cover up my skimpy nightgown.

He stared until I was uncomfortable.

“Sorry, Prudence. I think Alex went down to his office with Mark. He should be back soon. You were up late. Something wrong?” he asked, as his gaze washed over me from head to toe. I quickly made myself a cup of coffee, wanting to get out of the kitchen and get dressed.

“You two have a little falling out this morning?” he asked.

I poured my coffee and skipped the cream. “I’m sorry if you heard us,” I mumbled.

“I spent the night on the couch in Alex’s office. We had a late night, and I was too tired to drive home,” he said, with a smirk on his face.

“I’m sorry you had to hear us bickering. This campaign is taking its toll. They don’t tell you what it does to your marriage before you decide to run for president,” I said. A cold breeze poured in through the open windows, and my nipples hardened against the silk of my nightgown. I saw his gaze fixate on my breasts.

“Please, Prudence, no need to apologize. It’s hard on a marriage. I see it happen a lot. I know you’re frustrated. You are a beautiful woman with needs, and Alex can’t deliver.”

I glared at him, biting my tongue to keep from buying into the taunts and inappropriate turn he’d taken. “Well, I have to get dressed. I will be out of your way and you guys can get on with the campaign,” I said, trying to run out of the kitchen.

“Don’t go,” he said, blocking the door with his body. Where the hell was Beckett? He hated Ashe and would bark at him if he was nearby.

“Please move, Ashe. I need to go upstairs or I’ll be late for court.” I was in no mood for games after my fight with Alex. The intensity in his eyes and the strange smirk sent a shiver down my spine. That wasn’t the first time he’d flirted with me. I’d never told Alex because I didn’t want him to worry or think I was trying to make him jealous. Ashe was being a guy, I thought, no big deal, but as the campaign progressed, I saw it was more than that.

He grabbed my arm, spilling my coffee on the wood floor. I jerked away, but his smile never even slipped as his stare continued to move over me.

“Stop fighting it, Prudence,” he said. His grip on my arm tightened the more I struggled. A slow pain traveled up my arm, but as he squeezed my elbow, the pain began to burn. I grimaced when his thumb and finger dug into my skin. Where were the rest of the guys? Where was Alex?

I thought about throwing the rest of my coffee on him, and I would if it progressed any further. What the hell was his problem?

“Stop fighting what, Ashe? Where’s Beckett?” I asked, gritting my teeth.

“That mutt is outside where he belongs. You’re attracted to me, I can tell. You like what you see. The little fight this morning was to warm me up, let me know you aren’t being laid. That beautiful body of yours is in need of a man, isn’t it? Alex isn’t giving you what you need. I will, and better than he can,” he said.

I was ready to kick his ass the best I could. How dare he think I wanted him! How dare he betray the man who was paying his salary and trusted him!

“Want you? Are you nuts? I wouldn’t want you if you were the last man on earth. I see what a pig you are. I want no one but Alex,” I yelled, hoping someone would hear.

Ashe laughed as he continued to block me in the kitchen.

“Please, I know all about you. Crying on my shoulder, following me around when he’s away. You want me in your bed, in your hot little cut. I bet you don’t have underwear on, I bet you are hot and wet right now. Come on, we don’t have to tell Alex.”

“You better get the fuck away from me or you will be wearing this coffee. I mean it, Ashe. You are out of your mind if you think I want to have sex with you. I thought you were Alex’s friend. My friend.”

“Chicks like you don’t have guy friends. I don’t particularly care for Alex too much. Hell, it’s a paycheck. We won’t tell your sweet Alex. Bend over the counter like you do for him.” He laughed.

“Go fuck yourself, Ashe,” I yelled.

“That’s not nice, Prudence. I would prefer to fuck you. Your mom was a whore. I’m sure you’re just like her, hot and horny all the time. I love hearing you moan when you’re with Alex. It makes me hard. A few times, I’ve had to knock one off in the bathroom picturing you on top of him. Come on.”

He grabbed my coffee, spilling the rest of it on the floor. He took hold of my face, and I tried to turn my head. He held me firm and smashed his lips to mine. I kept my mouth shut as he tried to force his nasty tongue in. I couldn’t turn away.

“Prudence?” I heard Alex’s voice behind us, and Ashe let go of me. Beckett was standing beside Alex and barked. I looked at Alex with tears in my eyes.

“Alex, thank God,” I said, running to him.

“You have a hot little woman here, Alex. I didn’t expect that. I kept telling her no, because you would be back soon. She said she needed it and wanted me to bend her over the counter before you came back. Hell, I was so surprised, I spilled my coffee,” he laughed nervously. I wanted to kick him in his pathetic balls. Beckett was barking non-stop and growling.

“What? You’re a complete ass. I didn’t kiss you.”

“Get the fuck out of my house, Ashe, before I kick the shit out of you,” Alex yelled. His face was beet red. If Ashe didn’t get out, Alex might kill him.

Ashe put up his hands and laughed.

“Fine, cool off awhile, Alex. Go upstairs and fuck her good. Keep her off me. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it? That’s why you grabbed her up when you did. You like a good whore, I heard, and a young one,” he said, as he made his way out the front door.

Alex charged after him. I ran to keep Alex from killing him.

“Alex, don’t. He’s not worth it,” Mark said in a stern voice I had never heard before from him. I blocked Alex, but he pushed me out of the way.

Ashe made it out of the front door, into his car, and out of the driveway by the time Alex had the door opened. He had his finger out the window of his car, flipping us off. I’d never seen Alex so angry.

“Alex, please. It wasn’t me,” I ran to him. I looked over at Mark for support.

“Mark, tell him. You had to have seen what he did to me.”

Mark didn’t say a word. Why wasn’t he defending me?

I grabbed Alex’s arm to turn him to me. He twisted free from my touch.

“Leave me alone, Prudence,” he yelled, as he walked back to his car. I tried to get to him, but before I could, he was in his car and peeling down the driveway.

Mark walked to his car without a word.

“Mark, tell him what happened. I wasn’t kissing Ashe.”

“I know you weren’t, and so does Alex. I could try to calm him down, but I don’t want to piss him off any more right now. He’s ready to kill someone. Stay here. I’ll call you later.”

“Don’t let him do anything stupid. Find him before he kills Ashe.”

Mark sped down the driveway and out of sight.

My first instinct was to fall apart and lose control. No. I had to be in court in three hours. I needed to calm down and focus. This was bullshit. I didn’t need this right now. I had done nothing wrong. I took a deep breath and counted to ten. I needed to concentrate on my case and deal with this later. If Alex wanted to act like a child, then he could. I ran into the house and took a shower, got dressed, and headed to the office. I tried Alex’s phone, praying he would pick up and listen to me. He wouldn’t answer, and it went straight to his voice mail. His voice sent goose bumps up my body. I called Veena. I was becoming more pissed off than upset.

“Hey, woman. I was just thinking about you,” said Veena.

“Alex left. Ashe tried to kiss me. He did kiss me.”

“What the? I’m coming over,” she said.

“You can’t now. I have to be in court. Today is the big case. I don’t fucking need this shit. I have to concentrate. This is the one I’ve been working on for months. I’m so pissed right now, Veena. For one, Alex knows better. I don’t want any other asshole. Another, how could Ashe do this now? Listen, I’m going to be late and I need to stop for coffee. I will call you when I get home.”

“I’ll be there. Settle down. I’m sure Alex will be home tonight and the two of you can work it out. You both are overstressed.”

“I guess. I will see you later.”

We hung up, I picked up coffees and headed to court for what was to be a long drawn-out case. Thankfully, Thomas was prepared and had everything we needed ready. I tried to block out what had happened with Alex as I worked my charm and evidence on the jury. I was prosecuting a man who repeatedly abused his stepdaughters. I was in the mood to tear him apart. And, I did just that. Around five, the jury deliberated and came back within an hour with a verdict. Guilty on all counts. Life in prison. I did it. I’d won my case. I should have been celebrating and all I wanted to do was go home and see if Alex was there.

“Honey, you did it.” Thomas hugged me and kissed me on the cheek.

“No, we did it. I couldn’t have done this without you, Thomas. Thank you.”

“Shut up. You were awesome. That guy didn’t know what hit him.”

“Thank God I had such a bad morning.”

“You and Alex need to fight like that every time we have to be in court. My God. You were ruthless. Let’s celebrate.”

“I can’t, Thomas. I need to find out if Alex is home. Let’s celebrate this weekend.” I was putting my papers in my briefcase, trying to get out of there and get home.

“Gay bars?”

“Funny, no I was thinking dinner at the Blue Basil. My treat.”

He smiled and gave me a thumbs-up.

I drove home at high speed. Since the stress of my case was behind me, I could focus on what had happened earlier. I wanted to get home and see Alex. He had to have cooled off and would be home cooking us dinner. I pulled into the driveway and into the empty garage. His Maserati was not there. I tried calling him again and he didn’t answer. Panic began to set in as I walked into the house to see it looked the same way I had left it earlier. The coffee had dried on the floor where it spilled. The cups still sat on the counter, and Beckett was ready to burst. I let him out, fed him, and called Veena. She was coming over.

I ran upstairs to our room and threw myself on the bed. Burying my face in the sheets, I breathed in his scent and cried. I tried calling him, and it went to voice mail immediately. Beckett could sense I was upset and lay with me on the bed.

Veena came in and I heard her yelling for me.

“Prudence,” she said, as she ran up the stairs and into our room.

“Sweetie, what’s wrong? What happened?” She climbed in bed with me. I was still dressed. My face was swollen from crying.

“What the hell happened this morning?” she asked, sprawled out in my bed.

I told her what happened with Ashe and Alex. My calls went straight to voice mail. I tried Mark’s number, only to get the same result. I wanted my husband, and I wanted him in our home with me where he belonged. After a good long cry, I became increasingly pissed off as the night wore on. Veena tried her best to calm me down. She went downstairs and made me some coffee and something to eat. I wanted nothing. After a couple of hours, she left to get back to the baby. I threw on some clothes, grabbed my keys, and drove to Mark’s condo. The driveway was empty. Much to my disappointment, Alex’s parking space at his office was empty as well.

Out of options, I drove home much slower than I had when I left. The next few nights were filled with little sleep, but somehow I survived and got to work.

The next week, Ashe was featured on the news where he made a show of replaying my so-called sexual proposition. Apparently, I had tried to lure him into a sexual tryst. He also made sure to tell the media Alex had forced himself on me when I was thirteen while my mom watched. At that point, I began to wish Alex had killed him. Thank God for my work, because with Alex behaving like this, I threw myself into working harder and accepted another case. Mark came by to pick up the dog for Alex, who was staying at Mark’s condo until he got his head straight.

“That’s fucking wonderful. I don’t know why in the hell he’s mad at me,” I yelled as Mark held me close to him.

“Give it a while, Prude. He’s so angry. Not at you, but with Ashe and the situation. Ashe was the one going to the opponent and stirring up the fact you were so much younger than Alex. I’ve never seen Alex this mad before. He trusted that guy; let him in the inner circle. He didn’t do that with just anybody. Alex knows you didn’t kiss that asshole. It still hurt his pride. Give him time.” I was getting Mark’s dress shirt wet with my tears.

“He’s angry. I’m fucking pissed. He knows I wouldn’t want anyone but him. I knew Ashe was no good,” I cried.

“It’ll work out, Prude. You’re both miserable and I’m in between you both.”

“Make sure he eats, Mark. And tell him I love him. Please.” I ripped a paper towel off the holder and wiped my eyes.

“I will. It’ll be fine.” He turned to leave, and I gave him Becket’s big bag of dog food. Both of my boys were gone from me, and I was alone.

My soul cried out for Alex. I missed him so much nothing but my work mattered. Thomas, Veena, and Beulah all tried to call me and I didn’t want to talk to any of them. I made it through the day by working my ass off harder than I ever had before. As hard as it was, my career could not take a toll from this. My clients needed me and I had an obligation to be the best attorney I could for them. At night when I was in bed alone I fell apart. My nights were filled with dreams of Alex. My entire being ached for his touch, and his scent. I wanted him to come home to me. Each night brought me hope it was the night he would come back. Each morning, I was hit with the realization he wasn’t coming back to me. Maybe the next night, I told myself. That was what kept me going, the hope he would come back to me. I had to make him understand he was all I wanted.

Victoria would have killed me for behaving like this. I had become someone I swore I would never be: a woman who lived for a man, one that let him control my feelings. This was a wake-up call. I needed to become my own person. Alex’s life had eclipsed mine. How would I live through it? My love of him was toxic, all-encompassing, and I wished it would end. I wished I had never loved him. I wished he would never come into my life like he had. The night he married me, he’d promised he wouldn’t leave me. Now I was more alone than I ever had been.