9781631054631ChoiceAffairsSalisbury Read online

  I slid one hand down her body and pressed my fingers between her legs. She opened to my touch then lifted her hips so I could stroke her.

  I chuckled. “That’s it, my pet. You’re as wicked as ever.”

  “It’s you.”

  I swirled my fingers around her opening, spreading her folds. God, I couldn’t hold back much longer.

  I slowed my movements as her first climax came, so that it would build again. I did it two, three times, until she growled her displeasure and frustration.

  When she finally did come, she nearly slid out of the tub. I was soaked. The floor was, too. I didn’t care. I lifted her slippery body and brought her closer. I kissed her deeply, feeling her hand at the front of my jeans, where my cock stood hard.

  “Apolo…”

  “Soon, my pet, soon.” I knew what she wanted. I pressed my mouth to her, my tongue parting her opening and delving inside. She rocked back and forth, her fingers threaded through my hair. I finally nipped at her clit, sending her over the edge, her incoherent cries of pleasure ringing into the ceiling.

  Helping her out of the tub, I led her to the bed, pulling off my clothes as fast as I could. I slid next to her, sitting somewhat upright. I positioned her on my lap, kissing her, my fingers finding their way between her legs again.

  “You’re ready, my pet.”

  She spread herself wide over me, nodding.

  I slowly eased myself inside her. “You’re so tight, my pet. Why is that?” And she was. Tight and slippery. She was mine. “I belong here, Caitlyn.”

  I stroked her, and she rocked on me. “I love you,” she gasped out.

  “I love you, too. I’ll never stop loving you.”

  My hands firmly on her bottom, I furiously began to thrust in and out of her, until we both came in one glorious burst of white light.

  We stayed that way, our breathing returning to normal. Caitlyn kissed me as I pulled her down. We were still joined. I was as hard as I had been when we started.

  “We’re good together,” I told her. “In every way.”

  I glanced at her, her head resting on my shoulder. She was sated and sound asleep. She was the one thing in life that made me smile. Politics, family, and the world be damned. None of that mattered when we were together.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Apolo and I may not have been in bed making love the entire weekend, but it wasn’t necessary. When we did, it was deeply satisfying, for us both. Laying in front of a fire had almost the same effect. Almost. Nothing can ever replace or compare to Apolo. The man’s a sexual beast.

  He needed to decompress from all that was going on around him. He was in urgent need of some rest and relaxation. So, going to the house in the Hamptons was the perfect solution. That is until Jacob had to interrupt us with the news that my mother had bailed my brother out. Rather, her friend, lover, whoever he is, did for her.

  When we returned to Washington there were no fewer than a half dozen messages waiting for us at the security desk. My phone was no better, nor was the landline Apolo had insisted we have. Trying to share her side of the story.

  I knew I’d have to speak with her eventually, so Monday morning, once Apolo had left for his office, I called. Getting no answer, I left a brief message and hung up. I had the feeling she was monitoring her calls because she immediately called me back.

  “I know why you’re calling, Mother, so let’s sift through your bull shit, and why don’t you tell me—why did you, or rather your cozy bedfellow, for lack of a better word, bail Tom out. He needs to rot in jail for a long, long time.”

  “Don’t take that attitude with me, Caitlyn. Your brother did nothing wrong. All he and Don Turner were doing was trying some experiments to make sure Choice Enterprises systems were secure.”

  “Oh please. Is that what he told you? Then, explain why he and Don and Tony saw it necessary to take over five hundred thousand dollars out of the account they penetrated?”

  “You’ve always looked down on your brother, Caitlyn. And now that you’re married to Apolo Choice, you think you’re better than anyone.”

  “Better than that thief? Damn right, I am. If you had bothered to find out the truth, Mother, you’d know that the reason I stay away from Tom is because of the road he’s chosen to take.”

  “He’s done nothing wrong, Caitlyn. Alfred’s attorney assured us there is no evidence to convict any of them.”

  “Alfred, is it? Well, I’ve got news for you, Mother, your lover, or whatever he is, has a shyster for a lawyer. If Tom even stands a chance in hell of beating these charges, he’d better find better council. If he doesn’t skip bail.” Tom skipping bail was a real possibility. Given his skill sets and how he’d chosen to use them now, he’d never look back if he had the chance. Something I needed to speak with Apolo about.

  “You need to come down off that high horse of yours, young lady. That man you’re married to has picked the wrong people to clash with.”

  “Mother, I’m not going to sit here and argue with you. The only thing Apolo was doing was protecting his company and what is rightfully his. As for what you’re doing, tread lightly. Oh, a word of advice, since you’re so sure Tom is innocent, why don’t you fuss over him? I want no further contact with you until this matter is resolved. If you call or come near either of us, I will have Apolo’s attorney’s get a restraining order. Do I make myself clear?”

  I slammed down the phone, more out of frustration than anger. She’d pushed me to the breaking point. It was obvious she was over her head with this man. I looked down at my hand. It was shaking. Sitting down, I drew in a deep breath. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I made a mental note of what time it would be in Dublin. They were five hours ahead, Pop should be home from work. First though, I needed to gather my thoughts.

  What a wonderful way to start off the week with the bitch from Hell. I needed to call my father and see what if anything he knew about Tom’s little run-in with the law. If he didn’t, he needed to know. There was always the slim chance Tom might call him for money.

  I dialed his number and waited. Both parents in one day. Interesting. He answered on the third ring, obviously surprised to hear from me.

  “Pop, I’m just going to get to the point. Have you heard about Tom? If so, has he contacted you?”

  “No, he hasn’t contacted me, Caitlyn. Exactly what has he done? According to your mother, Apolo set Tom up?”

  “She had the nerve to call you?” I hissed.

  “Oh yes, she thought she’d try and get to me before you or Apolo did. She forgets I still have friends there, too.”

  “Yes, I just hung up on her. I really don’t know what’s going on with her, Pop. It scares me. For her. I’m afraid she’s gotten in with some not-so-nice people.”

  “Has she told you that she’s filed for divorce?”

  I was stunned, and now felt a knot in the back of my throat. I wanted to throw up. “No, she didn’t Pop. When did this happen?”

  “Last week. She’s claiming I abandoned her. She has a brutal attorney, according to my own. She wants damn near everything. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to fight her.”

  “Surely, you’ve got a good man there. Or do you need one here, as well?”

  “I could, but she’s gotten my assets frozen. The only thing she hasn’t been able to touch is my pay. At least, not yet.”

  “That bitch!” I caught myself before going further. “Sorry, Pop. She’s out of control. That’s the only way to explain it.”

  “She is that. As to Tom, I haven’t seen or heard from him. I doubt I will. I also don’t look for him to hang around Washington for things to come to a head.”

  I looked up to see Apolo standing before me, Jacob in the background. “Look, Pop, I need to go. I have an appointment. Let me talk with Apolo, see if we can’t help get some, if not all, of your funds unfrozen. If you hear from Tom, beware. He’s not to be trusted. Neither is Mother, I’m afraid.”

  “Don’t worr
y yourself about me. I’ll be fine. If I hear from Tom, however, I’ll call you or Apolo direct. Take care, sweetheart. Know that I love you.”

  “Love you too, Pop.” I hung up and waited for Apolo to speak.

  “He knows about Tom?”

  “Yes. And that bitch of a mother of mine has filed for divorce.”

  “We were expecting that, Caitlyn.”

  “What no one was expecting was the fact that my mother’s slime bag boyfriend, or whatever he is, has gotten her legal counsel. If that weren’t enough, they’ve managed to freeze all of Pop’s assets. Everything except his paycheck, and I’m sure that’s just a matter of time.”

  Apolo shook his head. His eyes were dark. He was not amused. “Does she have no shame?”

  “Apparently not. Oh, and I did speak to the witch. I told her she was not to contact me, that if she did, I would have your attorney’s slap her with a restraining order.”

  His eyes grew wide, and I thought I saw a smile. “Did you?”

  “I’m sick of her playing her games. Playing people against each other to get what she wants. And now that I know what she’s trying to do with Pop…it makes me want to go find her and throttle her.” I stared at him curiously then glanced up at the clock. He hadn’t been gone but barely three hours. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but what are you doing home?”

  “The three musketeers—or rather, make that four—Bo is now with them. They’ve disappeared.”

  “What? When?”

  “Sometime over the weekend. It seems the missing money also went along. Had to. From what’s been dug up on Tom, Tony, and Don, none of them had any liquid cash flow. Nothing that isn’t frozen by the feds, now.”

  “What about Bo?”

  “They’re checking into him, but he’s with them.”

  “I don’t understand,” I finally replied. “What’s going on? It all seems to swirl around my mother and that man she’s keeping company with. Everything leads right back to him.”

  “Ah, but it gets even better. Jacob here has uncovered what this man’s place in all of this is.”

  “Jacob?”

  He walked forward. He’d been with Apolo for years now, the one person outside of me the senator would trust with his life. Neither man had shared much with me, and I never thought it my place to intrude into their friendship. “The good Senator Beecham is Don Turner’s uncle.”

  “What?” I glanced at Apolo, who was standing there with that arrogant smirk on his face I’d come to love. “How did no one know this?”

  “Not hard to overlook. Don’s never been much on sharing his family history to begin with. I knew his parents divorced when he was pretty young. His mother came from money. I simply followed the money trail.”

  “Okay, now it makes sense. His mother moved back to be around family. Different last name. The one thing that I still don’t get is Delpheine. What does she have to do with all this? Besides thinking she’s going to steal my husband away from me.”

  “She’s working on the senator’s staff. I haven’t been able to pinpoint an exact title, or what she does, but she’s on his payroll.”

  “That certainly does explain a lot. Now, I’m going to take a wild guess—my mother and the senator are more than friends?”

  “It’s hard to say, but the guy I’ve had on him did catch the two in more than just a friendly, goodnight embrace, and the senator’s been seen leaving the hotel at odd hours.”

  I sat there for a moment. She thinks she’s so clever, my mother. Still, I can’t let her leave Pop in financial ruin. It won’t happen. “So, you came home just to tell me all this?”

  “Hmmm, yes. Glad I did, too. Now, I can have my attorney help find your father a bulldog solicitor who can bite your mother’s men in the arse, as the Scots would say.”

  I grinned. “You’re just full of yourself today, Senator Choice. No laws to pass?”

  “This afternoon, and now that we’ve shared news, I do have an appointment to keep. Oh, and by the way, Renee gave me some names for you to contact about our foundation.” He pulled a slip of paper out of his suit coat and handed it to me.

  Taking it from him, I scanned them. None I recognized. I noted Renee had made some notations as to what each of these people did. “I guess I better get to work myself. Dinner? Any requests?”

  “Food,” he smugly replied.

  * * * *

  Holding the paper he’d given me, along with a mug of warm coffee, I walked into my office and fired up my laptop. As I waited, I grabbed a nearby legal pad and pen and began making some notes. I knew the basics. I must now surround myself with the people more knowledgeable than I.

  I jotted down the two women I’d had lunch with when I first arrived. I needed to make contact again. Pick their brains a little. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to actually get involved in their organization. Good for networking.

  As the desktop came up, I googled in the names Renee had sent with Apolo. I made notes on each one, bookmarking their page for future reference.

  I found Amy Knight’s number and called it. I waited for voicemail to pick up. Then, I left a short, non-descript message. Placing the phone on my desk, I picked up my pen and made a few more notes. I was beginning to get excited about the prospect of finally getting this off the ground.

  It was needed. Apolo needed it, whether he would admit it or not. He’d never really faced his disability. Sure, he’d overcome a lot of hurdles before jumping on the road that was the here and now. The fact that he kept it hidden for so long was proof of that. Apolo was a private man, true, but I still felt while he never wanted pity from anyone, never wanted to discuss it, perhaps there was more going on. Until he met me. Now, he sees, once again, the good he can do.

  My cell rang, causing me to jump. I figured it was Amy calling back. The number looked familiar, so I answered.

  “Mrs. Choice, so good to hear from you. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”

  “Please, it’s Caitlyn. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner, but settling in here has been a bit more time consuming.”

  “Actually, it was me who was supposed to get back with you.”

  Dead air, an awkward silence.

  “I was wondering if perhaps the three of us could meet again for lunch. The senator and I have some questions I thought you might be able to answer.”

  Another pause. Not the same woman I’d met at the restaurant all those weeks ago.

  “Actually, Mrs. Choice, I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible. We’ve decided that perhaps we should distance ourselves from Senator Choice, given all the publicity surrounding him right now. I do hope you understand. Perhaps once this blows over, we can revisit the topic.”

  “Certainly, I understand,” I replied, curtly. “Sorry to have bothered you, Ms. Knight.” I hung up before she could respond. So, this was Washington? It had never occurred to me that people would shun me because of what was happening with Apolo. In spite of the fact that it was his personal business and had nothing to do with Washington or his senate seat. “Bunch of two-faced—”

  Rather than rant to no one but the walls, I decided to call Renee, see if perhaps I couldn’t get her to break free for an hour. Glancing at the clock on my desk, I started instead to head on down there. Knowing Renee, if I called her, she would make excuses for not taking the time. I wondered if she even had a social life. It wasn’t like she was a stranger to Washington, having grown up here.

  I paged the desk and requested a cab. No need in bothering Jacob at the last minute. If the weather wasn’t getting cold, I might have even walked.

  A short time later, I was on the elevator in the senate building headed to my husband’s office. There was the usual hustle and bustle I expected. The receptionist, knowing who I was, waved me in. I quietly asked her if Apolo was in. She nodded.

  Not seeing Renee in sight, I was told she was down the hall and would be right back. I walked over to Apolo’s closed door. If he was busy or had so
meone with him, I’d just turn around and wait on Renee.

  I quietly tapped on the wood then proceeded to open the door and walk in. My husband was indeed there, in fact, he was in quite the predicament, you might say. There he stood, in the middle of his office, Delpheine in his arms.

  They both looked up. She appeared as though she’d been crying. Her mascara was running down her cheeks, and her eyes were swollen and bloodshot. Stupid bitch, hasn’t she heard of waterproof mascara?

  Apolo was stunned. As he should have been. I’d obviously walked in on something I wasn’t intended to know about. “Caitlyn? What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask what she’s doing here, but I guess she must be that appointment you said you had to get to.”

  His shirt was damp and smudged from her eye makeup. If she thought her little game was going to work, she was sadly mistaken.

  “Caitlyn, you should have called first.”

  “Actually, no, I shouldn’t have. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”

  Fighting back tears, and determined that neither of them see it, I pivoted on my heel to leave. As I did, I almost ran right into Renee. How long she’d been there, or what she’d heard, I had no idea, nor did I care. I had to get out. It seemed to me in my moment of lax judgment that everyone was a part of this. Renee was a gatekeeper for Apolo.

  “Caitlyn, wait.”

  “No, I really don’t want to hear any excuses.” I stopped mid-sentence as I heard that cow snicker. I turned back around to face them. She was next to Apolo, but he’d distanced himself from her. “I’m sorry, Delpheine, did I say something funny?”

  She smirked. “I just didn’t take you for a quitter, that’s all.”

  I marched up and stood inches from her. If she wanted to play… Bitch, bring it on. I’d been waiting for this moment for far too long. I raised my hand and slapped her face as hard as I could. It was obvious she was stunned, as was my husband. “Quitter, huh? You’ve just met your match, bitch.” I turned and stormed out of the room, leaving the three of them staring at each other, I’m sure.