Page 17 of Senator

I glanced in the direction she looked and nearly swallowed my tongue.

Veer, Ashur, and Kevin walked in our direction.

Damn, they looked good. The three men oozed masculine power and confidence. They were all well over six feet tall with bodies honed from years in the military and triathlon training. The first time I’d seen them together, I’d thought a girl had to be dead not to notice their sex appeal. They’d just returned from a tour in Afghanistan and had come down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. By the end of the long weekend, they’d had every woman they’d encountered thinking unladylike thoughts.

“Nice outfit, Jaci.” Veer scanned me from head to toe, making me feel a tingle that I should have assuaged with his body earlier in the morning.

“Thank you.” I licked my lips and sat up. The last thing I wanted anyone to notice was the arousal pooling between my legs. Thankfully my bikini top had enough embroidery to hide my pebbled nipples.

Ashur’s expression was anything but happy. He stared at Tara with an intensity that said he either wanted to fuck her senseless or yell at her. It was probably both. I was going to have to have a long talk with Veer about inviting Ashur when he knew Tara was going to be at the house.

I peeked at Sam, who had a scowl to match her brother’s. She glanced my way and mouthed, “What the fuck is he doing here?”

I shrugged and mouthed back, “He’s your brother, how should I know?”

“Hello, ladies. Devin asked me to tell you the caterers have just left, and everything is ready for dinner.” Kevin approached me, leaning down to kiss my cheek. “Are you planning on feeding an army?”

“One thing you can say is that you never leave my house hungry.”

“That’s true, I can’t dispute that.” He moved to greet Sam.

“Hiya, handsome.” Sam reached up and hugged Kevin tight and then gestured to Tara. “Kevin, have you met my law partner? Tara Zain, this is the super handsome Kevin Stanton.”

Kevin moved toward her and crouched down beside her.

“Hello. I can’t express what a privilege it is to meet you in person. I follow all the adventures of Commander Zain.” He took Tara’s hand in his and kissed it. “Is it true that you told the terrorist Usaf Nazarri to go fuck himself when he refused to negotiate with you because you were a woman?”

“Don’t believe everything you hear,” Tara said tightly, and I knew those words were directed at the man whose presence she was doing her best to ignore. “Perception and hearsay aren’t always reality.”

“If I were you, I’d be proud of the press coverage. You’ve started a movement that has brought attention to the plight of women across the world. You’d make a fabulous running mate for Jacinta in four years.” Kevin winked at me.

His idea had merit. Once the drama of Tara’s current situation with the president calmed and her name was cleared, hopefully sooner rather than later, if my plan came through, her liberal side would be the perfect companion to my conservatism. Together, we’d appeal to a majority of voters. I’d have to talk about this in private with Tara sometime during this weekend.

Never mind. Strike that thought.

If I couldn’t be seen with Veer as the man in my life, having Tara with me on the ticket would be even more detrimental. Her stance on issues was twice as liberal and leftist as Veer’s.

“Uh-oh, I see the wheels turning,” Kevin said. “I’d be worried, Tara, very worried.”

I caught the amused gleam in Kevin’s eyes. He knew as well as I did that Tara wasn’t even a remote possibility. He was only steering the conversation away from the tension between Ashur and Tara.

Tara smirked. “I’m familiar with her antics. Too bad for her that I won’t be old enough when the time comes to pick a running mate. I don’t turn thirty-five until after the election.”

I huffed and then stood.

“Shot down before the idea could take root. I completely forgot you’re a baby compared to us.” I walked toward Ashur, hoping if I brought him into the conversation, he’d stop staring daggers into Tara. “How’s it going, grumpy?”

He moved his gaze from Tara to me and smirked. “As usual. Nothing new to report.”

“Right. I buy that. You’re always up to something, Ashur Kumar. How was New York?”

“Uneventful. My meeting never happened because I was stood up.” He glanced behind me at Tara for a second. “I guess they had better things to do.”

Okay, something was definitely up between those two and it was more than their past. When I got Veer alone, he was going to get an earful.

“Think of it this way—you get to spend a fabulous weekend with three gorgeous women and your closest friends.”

A smile touched his lips. “I can see the merits of that.”

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