their way between her legs. His knees spread her further as he positioned himself and slowly entered her. His eyes stayed on hers as he claimed her inch by breathtakingly slow inch. It was about more than love: it was affirmation of life and living. When he was fully inside her, he held himself still, fucking loving being part of her, and then he started to move. His mouth closed over her breast and her hands grabbed his ass, urging him to go faster. He rolled, keeping her close, until she was astride him. She needed no further encouragement as she started to move, her hips driving him crazy. He felt her body squeezing him just as he found the spot that he knew would send her over the edge. She cried out as she came.
Trace was rock hard when he flipped her over and started to thrust into her again, deep and fast.
“Again,” he demanded as his fingers found that nub and stroked her. He felt her spasming around him just as he came.
Her eyes were closed when she whispered, “I love when you lose your control with me.”
He didn’t answer with words, but took her mouth in a kiss that made him lose control again.
A dark cloud hung over the campaign headquarters when Ember returned two days after Heidi’s murder, though most who worked there didn’t know of Heidi or that she was dead. It was probably Ember’s own emotions causing the sensation. She tried to focus her attention on her latest assignment from her editor, reading about Nathaniel Carmichael.
It was strange reading about Dane’s father. Nathaniel was liked, well respected, and a successful politician, who had been an even more successful investment banker before his aspirations turned to politics. Though he had been described as a playboy, he was respectful of women, unlike Dane. From all that she had read, there were no skeletons in his closet, but she was sure the same could not be said for his son.
His life seemed pretty cut-and-dried except for his marriage. Dane’s mom had been beautiful, and there were countless pictures of her, young and smiling on the arm of her husband. For all intents and purposes, the two looked happily in love, but looks could be deceiving, because she’d left them when Dane was just a baby and had never looked back. To have a mother who chose to leave you actually explained a lot about Dane.
Yet Nathaniel had never filed for a divorce. Maybe she didn’t love him, but it seemed that he loved her.
Ember’s attention turned to Charles as he paced his office. He was acting strange, almost nervous. The memory of Heidi’s visit to Charles flashed in her head. It was surprising to Ember that Charles had even known of Heidi, but even odder was the anger Heidi had shown that day. What had that been all about?
Heidi had been blackmailing Trace; maybe she had something on Charles too, but what?
Later that day, Ember returned home to find Trace sitting in the living room, staring at the wall.
“Hi, beautiful.”
“Hey. Where’s Chelsea?”
“I dropped her off at her friend’s. She’s going to spend the night.”
“That’s nice.” She settled next to him, and he turned his focus from the wall to her.
“Charles seems to be taking Heidi’s death hard,” Ember said.
“Why do you say that?”
“He’s off, acting edgy and nervous. He knew Heidi. I told you about the day she came to see him and they had words. Do you think he knew her when she was at St. Agnes?”
“Why’s that important?”
“Just trying to figure out how far back their relationship goes.”
Trace thought on her question. “I don’t know how he would have known her then and I certainly never introduced them.”
“She was there because she was pregnant, wasn’t she?”
“Yeah.”
Ember knew they were both thinking the same thing: what a disgusting human being his father had been. Abusing his children, drugging his wife, and knocking up sixteen-year-old girls.
“How the hell did your father even meet her?”
“Knowing my dad, he probably scoped out the high school, the sick fuck.”
“You minimize it, but you took her under your wing, albeit begrudgingly, because she was a link to Seth.” He looked at her funny and she added, “You didn’t have to pay that ransom. I know you, and you could have found several ways to get her to keep quiet without paying her a cent.”