The Senator’s Wife

Excerpt:

They continued to Justine’s favorite exhibit and she suddenly wished she’d kept her mouth shut earlier. All the things she admired so much about these pieces—the exquisite detail, the muscle tone and graceful contours, various facial expressions, and the dramatic poses—was lost in a haze of embarrassment as she stared over and over again at the idealized human form. It didn’t matter that she was in her late thirties and knew the anatomical secrets of men. Like an overly curious pre-teen, she was drawn to every marble penis, every solid scrotum. Where was her self-control? She couldn’t stop herself from looking, though her innate good taste made her shy away just as quickly. Her hormones and head were in a strange, indecent tug-of-war.

“Like a frightened turtle,” murmured Sean out of the blue.

Turning in surprise, Justine muffled a laugh and agreed. Moving on, she thought she had her amusement under control but the next marble phallus was too much—or rather, too little—for her and she lost all composure and fled the grand hall in a burst of laughter without giving some of her favorite pieces the consideration they deserved. When Sean caught up with her, bent over the nearest water fountain for a much-needed drink, she could have sworn she heard the echoes of fading chuckles behind him.

Blotting her lips with the back of her hand, she straightened up and sputtered out one last laugh. “You’re wicked.”

His eyes were dancing, his smile infectious. “Someone had to say it. They did look a tad cold.”

“Was I so obvious?” she asked, cringing with embarrassment. Still, she needed to know.

He seemed to weigh his words carefully, though he couldn’t keep from smiling. “You seemed a bit fixated in there.”

“Oh, god.” Busted. She covered her face with both hands and gave a painful groan, though she couldn’t help laughing at herself when he started to chuckle softly. “I can’t believe I did that.”

“Been a while, has it?”

She dropped her hands and sighed. “Just between us?”

“Of course.”

“Too long,” she confessed.

“I suspected as much.” He arched an eyebrow at her. “There is a remedy, you know.”

“Not for me.”

He studied her silently for an uncomfortable beat before he finally nodded. “I see.”

What did that mean? Frowning now, she looked around and noticed the quiet alcove housing ancient Chinese pottery behind her. She backed into it and gestured impatiently for him to follow.

Then, hands on her hips, she stood up to him. “I see what you’re thinking, but I’m married. It might not be the most satisfying or…” She looked around to be sure she wasn’t overheard then took a step toward him and dropped her voice. “Ideal arrangement, but that doesn’t mean I can simply ignore my vows. It would be hypocritical to condemn Gary for his indiscretions then do the same thing myself.”

“I’m not suggesting you cheat on him. I’m suggesting you leave him. Leave him, Justine. You deserve better. You deserve more.”

She stared into Sean’s eyes and wished it was that simple. If it was, she’d go up on her toes right now and kiss those dusky lips of his. She’d hold him close and bury her nose in his collar. She was barely surviving on the occasional whiffs of his aftershave as it is. Like it or not, Sean drew her like every penis she’d just stared at in the last gallery.

He has one of those too.

Slamming her mental door on that unhelpful reminder, she sank against the bare wall at her back and helplessly threw up her hands. “I know, but this isn’t a good time to leave.”

“Is it ever?”

“I can’t right now. Not until after the election in November. The race is too close. It would weaken him.”

There was an angry tick in Sean’s cheek she hadn’t noticed before. “He’s weakened himself.”

“But Gary’s still the best candidate.”

Sean laughed in disgust and shook his head. “Doesn’t that just paint a glorious picture of American politics? It always comes down to the lesser of two evils.”

Depressed, she stared at the toes of her shoes, wishing it wasn’t so. Sean startled her by moving closer and taking her hand. He held it, his thumb making patient circles over the top.

Raising her gaze to his, she found a man equally sad and disillusioned looking back at her.

He seemed to weigh something before saying, “If you ever decide to change your situation, let me know.”

Hurt, she asked, “You don’t think I will? That I don’t want to?”

His left shoulder shifted ever-so-slightly, and he sighed. “I have no idea.”

Emboldened and annoyed by his doubt, she turned her hand in his and yanked him against her. Cupping his face with her free hand, she stretched up and softly pressed her lips to his. He kissed her back, lingering for a moment, breathing her in.

Sean rolled his lips inward, tasting them as he drew away from her. Then he smiled and softly grazed her cheek with the back of his index finger. “I’ve wanted to do that myself. I’ve wanted to do a lot more than that. But this can’t happen, we can’t happen, until you decide who you want to be with—for real. I’m not going to settle for appearances, Justine. As much as I want to kiss you again, really kiss you, the next move is yours.”