The Candidate's Wife (17 page)

She was grinning at him when he opened his eyes again. "How in the world did you get to the ripe old age of 37 without learning to do this for yourself? You wear tuxedos all the time, Adam."

He felt himself flushing. "Well, ah. . .er. . . There's usually been someone around who knows how."

Julia laughed. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. "One of your many women, you mean. Well, I'm honored to have the privilege this time."

Adam shrugged on his black jacket. "What about you, Julia? Where'd you learn to knot a tie?"

"Older brothers, remember? I helped them get ready for their senior proms. It's like riding a bicycle. You never forget." She smiled and brushed a stray lock of dark hair behind her left ear. She wore her hair piled up on her head again, elaborately fastened with what looked like a pair of lacquered chopsticks. Adam briefly considered pulling the chopsticks from her hair just to see her satin mane cascade down her back. He wanted to run his fingers through the shimmering mass, to bury his nose in its perfume. If he did, though, he suspected she would not appreciate the gesture.

Instead, he pretended to look her over with a critical eye. "Not bad, Julia, but there's something missing."

She frowned and glanced past him to check her appearance in the mirror. "Something missing? What?"

Adam reached into his pocket. He'd been waiting for just the right moment, and he knew instinctively that he'd found it. "Hold out your hand and close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Don't argue, just do it."

She frowned, but obeyed. Adam unwound the cool, glimmering strand of pearls into her palm. Their creamy translucence shone against her pale skin, skin as smooth and unblemished as the pearls themselves.

She opened her eyes. "Oh, Adam, they're beautiful. You didn't have to --"

"I know. I wanted to give you something." He took the pearls from her and looped the single strand around her neck. His fingertips grazed her petal-soft nape as he fastened the clasp. His lips touched her ear as he peered over her shoulder into the mirror. "Perfect."

Julia lifted her fingers to graze the pearls that fell against her collarbone. "They are perfect."

"No. I meant you, Julia," he whispered. "You're the perfect jewel."

She turned to look directly at him. Her eyes widening with surprise and a little alarm. Adam drew back and dropped his arms to his side. He hadn't meant to push her, but the compliment had come spontaneously to his lips.

"We ought to go," he said, to gloss over the moment. "Danny's already with the Wheelers?"

"Yes. I told him we'd be back late, and he decided to sleep over." Her lips curved into one of her heart-wrenching smiles. "At this very moment, he and Mike are probably up to some kind of mischief. I'll go over and get him in the morning."

Adam escorted Julia to the lobby, where Adam's driver and one of the new security officers waited to take them downtown. Adam had followed through on his promise. Julia and Danny never went unprotected now, once they left the apartment building. Even on the way to Ralston Elementary School or Adam's campaign headquarters, they were accompanied by retired police officers.

The drive took just a few minutes. Adam led Julia up the Regency Hotel's wide marble steps under the watchful gaze of press photographers and TV cameras. Julia seemed more at ease in the spotlight now. Adam looked on proudly as she waved and smiled, elegant and lovely in her red dress. He also noticed that, every once in a while, her fingers stole upward to touch her new pearls.

With Julia on his arm, Adam passed through the hotel's wide doors and into the courtyard. It was a huge rococo-style room boasting mahogany wainscoting, marble columns, lush carpets, crystal chandeliers, and hangings of salmon-pink damask. Moonlight filtered dimly through the thousands of glass windowpanes in the courtyard's magnificent skylight.

Symphony members performed at one end of the room as guests dined and mingled at the other. Julia sipped champagne and chatted with the cream of society as if she'd always belonged. Adam grinned as he watched her from his table. His wife might lack polish and a certain hard, glittering edge of sophistication, but she more than made up for it with her sincerity -- a rare quality in a city largely populated by lawyers and politicians.

When he couldn't stand to share her any longer, Adam stood, claimed her hand, and swept her off to the dance floor on the opposite side of the room. He lowered his mouth to her ear. "Having fun?"

She nodded and lifted luminous eyes to his face. Her upswept hair had shaken loose a little, so that stray strands curled about her cheeks, but she looked lovelier than ever -- calmer, somehow, and more radiant, joyful, and confident than he'd ever seen her before. "Oh, Adam, this is wonderful. I feel like Cinderella."

He pulled her a little closer, so that he could feel her silken cheek against his rougher one. "It's almost midnight, princess. Want to leave before the Mercedes turns into a pumpkin, or do you have time for one more dance?"

"One more, please." She smiled up at him like an excited child.

Adam whirled her away. He remembered their waltz at the wedding reception, and how tense her body had felt in his arms. He also remembered, with more than a little shame, that he'd performed for the cameras that night, far more aware of the image he projected than the woman in his arms. This was different. This was the real thing.

The dance ended. Julia hooked her arm through his. "All right, Adam," she said softly. "I'm ready to go home now."

Adam fetched her wrap, a black wool shawl, then led her toward the door. She let him take her hand as they stepped out together into the chill air. The Mercedes waited at the curb as Adam and Julia descended the marble staircase. Velvet ropes kept the press and public out of the way, but flash bulbs popped around them as the ever-persistent photographers snapped their last pictures of the night.

Suddenly, Julia tugged at Adam's hand. He paused halfway down the marble steps and turned to glance at her -- just as she took his head in her hands and pulled him toward her for an unexpected kiss. Her silken lips, warm despite the cool night, briefly brushed his mouth. The spontaneous gesture of affection sent waves of pleasure humming through his body.

When she drew back, Julia's eyes danced with amused self-satisfaction. "There," she whispered. "Let's see that photo on the front page of the Times!"

Adam threw back his head and roared with laughter.

Half an hour later, tired but happy, Julia followed Adam back into their apartment. She switched on the lights and locked the door behind them. As she unwound her wrap and dropped it on the living room couch, she realized that she had never enjoyed herself as much as she had tonight. Adam was so gentle and considerate. She had felt a very real sense of loss when the dancing ended and he no longer held her in his arms. She'd kissed him on impulse. She felt her cheeks grow hot as she remembered the caress, but she wasn't sorry she'd done it.

Adam grinned down at her as he shrugged off his heavy coat. "You still look beautiful, sweetheart. No rags, no pumpkin, but where's that prince with your glass slipper?"

Julia smiled as she stepped out of her high heels. "My slippers are right here," she said, as she stood on tiptoe to stretch her sore arches.

Adam stepped closer. His eyes were dark, his voice low. "And your prince?"

Julia flushed, but she met his eyes boldly. "Right here," she repeated, in a whisper.

Adam slipped his arms around her and pulled her close. She felt his heart hammering in his chest, or perhaps it was her own. They stood together for several endless seconds before Adam dipped his head. "It's late, sweetheart," he murmured into her hair. "You should go to bed."

Julia nodded, then tipped her head up so she could meet his eyes. Trembling, she did once more what she'd done on the steps outside the Regency Hotel. She brushed her lips over his, then pulled away again, surprised by her own audacity. "I'm not sleepy, Adam," she said, in a voice that shook just a little. "But if you are. . .you've got the debate tomorrow morning. It's awfully important that you do well, isn't it?"

"To hell with the debate," he growled. His arms tightened around her. He bent his head and covered her lips with his.

Julia felt the last, flimsy barrier between them crumble to dust as Adam tasted her mouth with leisurely restraint. She realized, too, that this was exactly what she'd wanted all evening. This, and much, much more.

Adam broke the kiss and pulled away, but he stared at her with an intensity and a searing passion that Julia could not mistake. "I'm not tired, either," he said. His husky voice held a strange, yearning quality. "But I'll say goodnight right now, if that's what you want. Is it, sweetheart?"

Julia spoke softly, but with heartfelt conviction. "No."

"You're sure?"

For weeks, Julia had fought the urge to let Adam make love to her. Julia had allowed her fear to triumph over a blazing desire, a desire that almost frightened her with its strength. Even now, she knew she might get hurt. She almost expected it. But she couldn't stop now. More than anything, she wanted to touch every inch of Adams smooth skin and hard muscle, to savor his kisses, to know him in intimate, sensual ways.

"I'm sure," she said.

Julia lifted herself up on her tiptoes and kissed Adam again. She could hardly believe her own recklessness, but it felt as right and natural as drawing air into her lungs. She nibbled on Adam's lower lip until he responded with an undeniable urgency. He ran his tongue along the ridge of her teeth and then delved deeper into her mouth until she let out a tiny moan of pleasure.

With Adam's mouth still fused to hers, Julia undid his cummerbund, then pulled his shirt from his trousers. With trembling fingers she undid the knot in his bow tie and unbuttoned his shirt one button
at a time. As Julia broke the kiss and pushed his shirt aside, Adam cooperated with only a single raised eyebrow and a faintly amused grin. She ran her fingers over his chest and ribs, relishing the crispness of the golden hair under her palms.

Adam's mouth descended until she felt his breath hot against her ear. "My turn," he whispered.

His arms closed around her as he fumbled for the zipper on the back of her dress. Julia let her eyelids slowly close as his mouth trailed down her throat. He rained sweet, stinging kisses onto the curve of her breasts, where they pushed up over the low neckline of her dress. Endless seconds ticked by as he struggled with the hidden zipper, making little progress. Adam uttered a choice curse under his breath.

Julia suppressed a giggle as she remembered the way he had tortured her on her wedding night. "Need some help with that?"

He growled playfully. "I can manage. Turn around."

She obeyed, and a moment later the zipper came free and the dress puddled to the floor around her feet. Slowly, shyly, Julia turned back to Adam.

His gaze seemed to consume her as his eyes traveled from her breasts in their lacy cups to the matching panties and the garters she wore to hold up her sheer silk stockings. Julia's cheeks flamed. She lifted her hands to conceal herself, but Adam frowned and shook his head. "Don't. You're beautiful."

"I -- it's been a long time since I --" Julia's throat constricted as Adam's gaze lingered on her body. She laughed and glanced away. "What if I don't remember what to do?"

Adam chuckled. He pulled her tight against him. "What was that you said earlier tonight, about tying bow ties?"

"It's like riding a bicycle," she repeated. "You never forget."

Adam laughed. "Exactly. You said it, not me."

A second wave of heat rose to Julia's cheeks, but she laughed with him, then shivered with pleasure as Adam's hands began their slow exploration of her body. Her skin tingled as he unclasped her string of pearls. He trailed the necklace over her breasts and then her collarbone. The pearls were cool and smooth against her skin. Finally, Adam let them fall to the carpet.

Next, his questing fingers slid over the lace of her lingerie; the sensation nearly drove Julia mad. She could feel the heat of him through the thin barriers, but she craved the touch of skin to skin.

He was taking his time, though, tormenting her, playing her body like a fine instrument. He hooked his fingers under her knee and pulled her leg up toward his hips. She enjoyed the sensation of his hard thigh between her legs, but she wanted more -- much more.

"Adam, please," she breathed. Her fingers moved to the top button of his tuxedo pants, then to his zipper. His trousers joined her dress on the floor. Her hand slid over the taut muscles of his lower abdomen and slipped under the elastic waistband of his briefs.

She heard the sharp intake of his breath. Startled, she pulled away. "Oh," she exclaimed. "Did I hurt you?"

He let out a low, sexy chuckle. "No, sweetheart, you didn't hurt me. That was a gasp of pleasure. It has been a long time, hasn't it?"

She glanced down at the bulge in his Calvin Kleins and swallowed hard. "Apparently so."

His lips quirked into a smile of slightly pained anticipation. "It's not that I'm not enjoying this interlude," he said, "but I think we should continue this elsewhere, or we'll end up right here on the living room floor."