Dissident (22 page)

“Are you speaking of the fact that I’m tied to your bed?”

“Among other things. Aside from the light bondage, you’re also completely naked.”

“So are you. And I trust you not to hurt me.”

He kissed her. “I know. That’s huge.”

“I don’t just mean with regard to sex.”

“I know that too.”

“And you can practice your knot making skills on me any time you want.”

Jack bit her neck. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that.”

Caroline was willing to test his cryptic warnings. “Show me how much you love me,” she whispered.

“I will, sweetheart.” He grinned at her devilishly. “But there’s something you should know. I can hold out a lot longer than you. I could tease you for hours and not get bored.”

He slid down to kiss her on the lips again but only gave her a light peck. Which was the complete opposite of what she actually wanted.

“You’re driving me mad, McIntyre. Just take me now and do your worst.”

“I love fulfilling requests.” He picked up the blindfold. “Okay, my little tiger. Let’s have some fun.”

Caroline

July

It was a little over two weeks before the summer recess. Caroline only made it back to Philadelphia late one Saturday, but she and Jack spent as much time as they could together during the week when they were in Washington. Dinner almost every night, lunch when they could, stolen glances in the hallways. She knew he wanted more. But they’d barely been dating for a month, even if they’d been friends since January. She was hesitant to move any quicker.

Both of them had the afternoon free; they spent several hours lounging on the couch in his capacious house in Georgetown talking about nothing, before deciding they were bored and getting up to dance.

Jack had a vast collection of jazz standards and assorted oldies. He assured Caroline that she was proving to be a very talented partner but she didn’t quite believe him. She practiced by herself while Jack occasionally got up to check on the roast he was making, even though she knew she must have looked silly. She tried to time it so that he wouldn’t see her, but Jack caught her performing a waltz solo right before dinner was ready. He laughed for about five minutes before twirling around her the living room again.

Caroline was now sitting on his lap at the table in the formal dining room, feeding him bites of lemon meringue pie.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“It’s good. Did you really make it from scratch?”

“I did,” Caroline said. “It took me a good chunk of yesterday but since you were making me dinner I thought I owed you something.”

Jack’s eyes flashed. “All I’m getting is pie tonight?”

“You might get lucky. I’m glad it made it over here in one piece. From the house to my office to your place, I thought the meringue might fall.”

“Where’d you learn to bake like this?”

“Practice, I guess. I like using good ingredients and knowing what I’m eating, even if it’s not all that good for me. You might have to try my cookies, too.”

“I would love to try your cookies,” Jack said.

“Must everything you say sound like an innuendo?”

“Yes.”

“I could teach you how to bake.” Caroline slid another fork of mostly meringue into Jack’s mouth. “If you ask nicely. Maybe you could teach me how to cook.”

“Maybe. If you ask nicely. Or let me try your cookies.”

Caroline tweaked his nose. “Where did you learn to cook, Congressman?”

“I taught myself, mostly,” Jack said. “Once I got a few years out of college I realized meals weren’t going to make themselves. I hunkered down and did most of my experimenting while I was in business school. I wanted to eat healthy, especially after all that time living in hotel rooms in Europe and going to restaurants almost every night.”

“Huh, Nicky felt the same way. About eating well, I mean.” Caroline frowned. “Does it bother you that I talk about him?”

He took the fork out of her hand and put it on the table. “No. It’s comforting.”

“Really?”

Jack cupped her chin in his palm. “You were married to him for over ten years, Caroline. He was a huge part of your life. He’s the father of your children. You can’t forget about all of that. And I like how devoted you are to his memory. It makes me know that you’re with me for the right reasons.”

“What reasons would those be?”

He shifted his gaze away from her. “That maybe I can give you the same thing he did.”

Caroline kissed his cheek. “That’s such a nice thing for you to say, darling.”

“‘Darling’?”

She laughed. “I call my children that. I don’t know why that slipped out.”

“No, it’s nice. Although I am partial to Monty.”

“I like that one too.”

Jack kissed her. “I don’t want you to ever feel awkward mentioning Nick in front of me. I like hearing about him. About your relationship with him. I like trying to figure out what parts of your children come from you and the parts that come from him. Even though he and I are very different.”

“You are,” Caroline said. “But you have a lot of the same qualities. You’re both funny, affectionate, and protective. And supportive. I appreciate that. I just don’t want you to think that I’m dwelling on the past.”

“Your past is part of who you are now. I wouldn’t want it any other way, because you’re such a wonderful person.”

“First you rave about the pie and now this. Flattery will get you everywhere.”

Jack laughed and grabbed the fork off the table. “I know. And you just reminded me that I’m still hungry. Feed me, woman.”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “Caveman.”

“How was parents’ weekend up at camp?” he asked.

“It was magnificent,” she said, scooping up some pie. “Sophie was much less homesick than I thought.”

“Did you mention me?”

She brought the fork to his lips, then pulled it back. Just to tease him a little. “Such an arrogant man.”

“I was just curious as to how they reacted to the news that you’re dating someone.”

“I might have mentioned we were spending more time together. Mo figured it out right away. Something about me not being so moody.”

“You miss them, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” she said. “It was hard not to pack them up and come home. But they’re having such a great time. And they deserve it. Last year they both stayed home since Mo was still having a hard time with Nicky being gone and Feef wasn’t old enough yet. I’m glad it’s working out so well.”

“I love that you’re so attached to them.”

“Some might call me a helicopter parent. Much more so than I used to be.”

“How did you behave before?”

Caroline put the fork down. This was hard to admit. “I made some very poor choices when I was first elected. I missed a few moderately important life events because of votes or town halls or other activities. It was a selfish way to act.”

“That seems surprising coming from you. I wouldn’t have expected it.”

“Nicky and I fought a lot back then. He didn’t like that I got into politics.” Caroline gave Jack a pensive look. “Despite all my talk, my marriage was far from perfect.”

“Although I’ve never been married, I would assume that no relationship fits into that category.”

“Why didn’t you ever tie the knot?” Caroline asked him. “You must have had opportunities.”

“You know why. I wasn’t in love.”

“That doesn’t stop a lot of people from going down that road. Especially high profile people.”

“It was a risky venture. I didn’t want to take it. It didn’t feel right. I dated a lot of vacuous women. I wasn’t going to make that kind of commitment to any of them. I didn’t think I’d ever want that kind of perpetual mutual obligation, especially if there was a chance they’d use me because of my wealth.”

“But you must have felt differently before you made your money. In college or in business school.”

Jack looked chagrined. “I thought about getting laid in college. And I stayed the same in graduate school and as I advanced in the business world. I never thought about settling down. Never realized how artificial I was before I met you. How much more I could actually think of having.” He smiled. “You’ve helped me grow up.”

“I would hope you’d have finished by now,” Caroline jested.

“Have you?”

“Nope. I’m a work in progress.”

“So am I. I’m just a little further behind than you. As for marriage, I’m evolving on the subject.”

Caroline had to change the topic fast. She scraped up one of the remaining bites of pie and lifted it to his lips. “How was your meeting with the Pennsylvania delegation earlier today?”

Jack swallowed the pie down. “It was all right. Why?”

“I might have read something in
The Hill
about a little kerfuffle.”

“Kerfuffle?”

“Between you and Representative Murdock.”

“What did it say?”

“Something about the two of you having to be separated during a heated argument. Should I ask Chrissy about it?”

“No,” he said. “It happened before she got there.”

Caroline kissed a bit of meringue off the side of his mouth. “What is it?”

“Sweetheart, you don’t need to worry about it.”

Caroline sighed. “Was it about me?”

He ran his knuckles down her cheek. “That’s very narcissistic of you.”

“Shit, it
was
about me.”

He kissed her lightly. “You don’t need to concern yourself with it. It was handled.”

“Jack, come on. I really don’t want to argue about that asshole.”

“All right,” he conceded. “He made a highly inappropriate remark about you, I took offense, and he was lucky I didn’t break his jaw. He saw that picture of us in
Washington
Life
at that charity event.”

They were trying to keep their relationship on the down low when it came to media coverage but Caroline had lightened up a little when it came to everything else. They weren’t hiding it from anyone they knew but they weren’t exactly advertising it. They settled for quiet dinners near the Hill or spent most nights at Jack’s brownstone before Caroline would head home to Rockville. But they weren’t going to hide their relationship completely.

Jack had convinced Caroline to attend a fundraising ball for special needs children at Union Station the previous week, and the social pages had been all over the two of them. They didn’t print anything unseemly but one photographer caught a shot of Jack kissing Caroline on the cheek, and it was obvious from their body language that it was more than just a friendly peck.

“Oh,” Caroline said. “So he’s jealous?”

“I guess so. Or something else. You’re right. He is a slug.”

“That bad, eh?”

Jack’s color deepened. “Yes.”

“You’re not going to tell me what he said, are you?”

“No.”

“Is there any point in trying to charm you into telling me anyway?”

“No,” he repeated curtly.

He appeared to be angry, but not with her. She knew he had divulged all that he was willing to say on the matter. “I have a subcommittee meeting with him next Wednesday,” she said.

“Stay away from him,” Jack cautioned.

Caroline kissed his cheek. “Thank you for defending my honor, Monty. But I can handle Murdock just fine. I’ve done it before.”

Jack still looked uncomfortable. “How many blogs and political sites do you visit?” he asked.

“Not that many,” Caroline said. “Maybe
The Hill
or
Politico
, but not much beyond that.
Roll Call
and
CQ
for practical matters. Although I’ve been known to sneak a peek at
Wonkette
every now and then for my daily dose of snark.”

“I see. Those are all relatively legitimate sources of information.”

Caroline laughed. Maybe he didn’t know what
Wonkette
was. “I don’t like purely partisan sites. I’d rather make my judgments myself based on personal observations.”

Jack relaxed. “I knew there was a reason I loved you so much. So, if you were visiting
The Hill
this week, did you notice all that praise you received for that bipartisan piece of legislation you authored?”

“You mean the capital gains bill?”

“Yes.” Jack gave her an impish look. “You’re finally embracing Reaganomics, I see. Just a few decades late.”

He was poking fun at her, and Caroline bit his earlobe in return. “I am not. It’s common sense, which shouldn’t be partisan. Give middle class people a tax break on investments and they’ll invest more. Or at least be more willing to consider it. Upper class folks don’t need that incentive.”

“I may sign on as a co-sponsor. Would that make you happy?”

“Extremely. Might even get you laid.”

“I don’t need to co-sponsor bills for that, do I?”

She ran her hands through his hair. “What do you think?”

“It’s a good bill. I’m sure it will pass through both chambers rather easily.”

“I’m not sure the president will sign it.”

“Have you been lobbying him on it?”

“Not really. If he wants to talk to me, I’ll listen. But if he wants to get the economy going again he has to try something other than the same old tired methods.”

“I get the feeling you’re not pleased with his job performance thus far.”

“I’m not. He cultivated all this goodwill before being sworn in and he’s blown it.”

Jack gave her a wry grin. “You’re not just saying that because you’ve been unable to cultivate the same goodwill after your keynote speech, right?”

Caroline frowned again. “It’s funny how being a giant bitch made me really popular with the DNC, and when I calmed down a little and started being nice again, they drifted away.” She rubbed her temples. Mulling over party politics gave her a headache. “But I don’t mind. I hate all that bullshit. Makes my life a lot easier, actually.”