another surge of relief that the hotel they’d been staying at that night hadn’t been taller. She had come very close to getting down on her knees and doing something to Jack that would have made the rest of her career in Congress an absolute nightmare. She had been much more intoxicated than she realized. Getting caught on camera blowing her husband wouldn’t have boded well for her potential future as the first lady of a major Rust Belt state, either. Funny how Jack hadn’t been the subject of nearly as many offensive blog postings and internet comments as she had.
She knew that when it came to the simpletons on the internet, women could only fall into two categories: virgin or whore. And possibly (once they became old and used up) crone. Even though the man she’d been fooling around with was her husband and they had every right to do whatever the two of them wanted, she was seemingly the whore. Better than being a crone, but not by much.
Meanwhile Jack was portrayed as a very fortunate man. It hadn’t helped when he’d said as much at a press conference after the story broke. He was a lucky man married to a loose woman who did nothing but have sex and occasionally sponsor legislation. What a fucking double standard.
They were walking down the empty hall to the ballroom when Jack spun her up against the wall. “When we get back to our room I’m going to fuck you so hard you’re going to feel me with every move you make tomorrow,” he whispered into her hair.
She laughed lightly. “Perverted old man. Saying something like that right before I’m going to give a speech.”
“Just giving you something to think about,” he said. “If I wasn’t concerned about hidden cameras in the elevators I’d stop between floors and fuck you there too.”
“I’d do it if I didn’t think it would give those damn pundits and misogynistic male bloggers something else to leer over. And it may not be very gubernatorial,” she said. “I’m trying to be more of a lady. It doesn’t seem very ladylike to let you rip off my panties and have your way with me inside an elevator car.”
Jack laughed. “Says you.”
He pressed his hands against her backside, rubbing his palms against the soft material of her dress. Caroline knew what kind of mood he was in.
“Naughty girls get spanked,” he said in a low voice.
She smiled seductively and tugged on his tie. “Don’t make promises you won’t keep.”
“You know I’m good for it,” he breathed, squeezing her ass.
He wasn’t lying. He always followed through on what he promised in bed, as long as they both consented to it. If he was true to his word, Caroline would have a very uncomfortable flight back to Philadelphia the next day. But it would be worth it. She got excited thinking about what the rest of the evening might bring.
She brought her lips close to his. “If the public only knew, Mr. McIntyre. The dirty, nasty things you do to your wife when you know for certain that no one else is around.”
“They’re almost always at Mrs. McIntyre’s request,” Jack said, kissing her softly. “Even if they’re borderline illegal in some states. I live to make her happy.”
“I know you do,” Caroline whispered.
She wrapped one of her legs around him subtly so that no one else could see. One of her more effective tricks. She pressed up against his hip and kissed him, feeling him start to get hard.
“You’re not playing fair,” Jack said against her mouth.
“That’s what you get for distracting me,” she said silkily. “Now you’ve got something to focus on for the rest of the night. I’m going to be very, very bad. Be ready.”
He reluctantly slid his hands off her ass. “I’m always ready.”
Caroline heard voices nearby and practically jumped away from him. “I’ll see you in the ballroom, Jack,” she said in a loud singsong voice. She turned around and winked at him before striding down the hall, leaving him with a dazed grin on his face.
* * * * *
Jack wanted to give Ellen a huge, platonic hug, so Caroline dragged him along to the little mini-meeting they had planned before they walked on stage together. Ellen, who had been thrilled to see them both, didn’t waste any time laying down the law.
“No politically incorrect jokes,” she said.
“Shit,” Caroline said. “That’s half my damn speech.”
“It can’t be. Surely you can work in some economic