Page 40 of Capitally Engaged

The phone started ringing again.

“My phone’s been on Do Not Disturb all day,” Preston picked up his head to look at me. “He won’t stop until I pick up.”

I slid off his lap and onto the couch next to him, so he could get to his phone in his pocket. “The senator is an exception for your Do Not Disturb?”

“Can we not discuss work/life boundaries right now?” Preston adjusted himself as he picked up.

“Hell—”

I heard the senator cut off his greeting, speaking quickly into the phone. Preston’s eyes widened as he listened.

“Yes, she’s here.” His eyes cut my way as he listened more. “Understood. We’ll be there in an hour.”

He hung up and immediately started typing furiously on his phone.

“Where are we going?” I said, tying my robe again. The moment had passed. Again. Frustration at being cock blocked by our boss on a day off was only held back by interest in the vigor with which Preston typed. Something big happened.

“A school board is calling a last-minute vote on reversing their gender bathroom policy on Monday night. The parents of the teenager at the center of the storm got ahold of Senator Marsden somehow and want him to be at the meeting. With the primary less than two weeks away, he can’t say no, and he wants us both there. He flew out earlier today. He wants us on the 8:30 flight out of DCA.”

I stood up, a fire burning in my chest that had nothing to do with how close my body had been to Preston’s moments earlier. He cared about the work the senator did, the work he hoped to do some day, so much. It was hard not to feel inspired.

“All right then, I guess we better pack.” I walked over to the coat closet to grab our suitcases. I put them in the middle of the living room and then decided to get dressed before I did any more prep.

“Hey, Jax?” Preston called, prompting me to turn around at the doorway to the bathroom, his back to me as he stacked clothes in his suitcase on top of the dresser.

“Yeah?”

“Make sure you pack that nightie, okay? And bring those ground rules of yours. We’ll have to hammer them out on the plane. The senator’s only getting us one room, and I sure as hell hope there’s only one bed.”

I melted slightly against the doorframe, glad he couldn’t see me, before turning back and closing myself off from Preston and his swoony ideas. The fire from before returned, merging withthe admiration I felt for Preston and his commitment to his beliefs. Maybe the moment hadn’t passed after all.

Chapter

Seventeen

Preston

Being this horny on a plane was a new experience for me. Thankfully, the only two seats left on the flight were first class, which gave perks of extra leg room and assured us our own row. Every step of the boarding process seemed to take twice as long, now that the motivation to make it through the short flight and whatever work session Mitchell had waiting for us sat beside me, smelling like a damn dream. I ached to get her alone again.

“So,” Jax said, turning to face me, her back against the window in the dim airplane light.

“So,” I responded, my eyes searching out the features of her face, eyes adjusting to the darkness.

“You wanted my ground rules. Do you have any of your own?” she asked, sipping the Diet Coke the flight attendant brought her after we reached cruising altitude.

“I might. Let’s hear yours first.”

Jax looked like she wanted to argue. “Okay. First, we keep the three-month trial end date. Getting more physical doesn’t change that.”

I nodded, urging her to continue.

“This doesn’t change what we are to each other. If someone starts to feel feelings, they say so and everything stops.”

I swallowed, reaching for my own glass of water. I had no experience separating sex from emotions. But I knew I wanted Jax, so if that’s what it took to have her, I’d agree.

“Agreed. Anything else?” I asked

“Foreplay goes both ways.”

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