Page 21 of Judas

Eliza, quickly losing all patience for her job and father, barked out a sardonic laugh, “The conservative minds were the violent ones! Dad, you can be conservative without pandering to fools who live life with nothing but hate inside them. Those are not the real people of your party. Just the loudest.”

“Puh-tay-toe, puh-tah-toe. You see it your way and I see it mine,” Paul snapped as he returned to his newspaper, violently flipping the pages. Once he had made it through all the pages, he slammed it down on the table in disgust.

Eliza had entered the room in a delightful, Judas-fueled mood, but recalling the events of yesterday afternoon soured it quickly. Her father’s inability to hold people accountable only made Eliza want to fight, “What in God’s name is wrong with you today?!”

Paul yelled at her across the table, “Damn it, Betsy! Don’t you take the Lord’s name in vain with me! You know very well how I feel about that nonsense!” His skin flushed bright red with angerand a vein throbbed out of his forehead in ways that made Judas fear the old man may have a stroke.

Eliza rolled her eyes, relenting, “Sorry. Let me rephrase. What is wrong with you today?”

An obviously fake smile painted across her face.

Paul stood from the table and stalked over to the large windows overlooking the city. Staring out, he seemingly contemplated every last inch of the horizon before speaking quietly, “I wasn’t even mentioned once in the article.”

Eliza’s brows drew together and a line formed between them. Judas took note and reminded himself to take extra care in gently rubbing away that little line later. He never wanted to see anything but relaxed bliss written across her features and would do anything to achieve that.

She stared at her father’s back and reached for the newspaper as she spoke, “What are you talking about?” Her eyes scanned the pages as he just had with understanding dawning, “Oh.”

Eliza walked the paper over to the other staff members in the room and pointed out an article taking up a large portion of the front page. The headline called out the drama from the rally yesterday. Not even one time was the hopeful senator, Paul Arthur, mentioned, even though the article continued on for several pages. Eliza stood next to her father, giving him the silence he needed to process his next words.

“I was there, Betsy. I stood right there on that stage when all hell broke loose. I was a part of all of it from start to finish, for goodness sake. Yet, not even one time does that article say my name. It’s a disgrace. How am I ever going to get the votes I need if the local paper doesn’t even feel the need to say my name?” His voice cracked with emotion at these last words.

Eliza looked at him and told him the truth but in a way that would make sense in his worldview, “That article is not the kind of place you want your name spoken. That article is the uglyside of politics and prejudice.” He began to quarrel with this, but Eliza silenced him with a raised hand and calm demeanor. “We will get your name mentioned, Dad. That’s what we’re all here for, but let’s try to do it in a way that makes you look like the old-fashioned, upstanding Texan that you are. Not for being a bigot. That’s not the press you want and that’s not the reputation you want to establish for yourself. Can we agree on that?”

The older man stared out the window for a long moment before nodding his head and looking toward his daughter, “I suppose you’re right, Betsy.”

She smiled at this small victory and placed an arm gently around her father’s shoulders, “Good, now let’s all sit down and brainstorm some ideas.”

Judas watched as she guided her father back to the table and took control of the situation. As beautiful as it was to watch her work on any given day, this scene felt a little like a preschool teacher talking to a tantrum throwing toddler. He didn't know or understand where that woman got her copious amounts of patience, but he knew he admired it tremendously.

Chapter twelve

Taking one final look in the mirror, Eliza appraised her appearance. Her hair was down and flowing around her shoulders, it perfectly framed the ample cleavage she worked so hard to produce under her silk nightie. It had two lace panels sewn into the sides that gave just the slightest glimpse of her tattoo beneath. The mid-thigh length gown was not something she would ever wear on a regular occasion, but tonight was different.

Inviting him over felt like the most foreign concept to her and she felt awkward the entire time she was doing it. Eliza was not the kind of woman that invited coworkers over for after work shenanigans. But then again, she had been doing a lot of things that weren’t normal for her since Judas came into her life. She had never slept with someone she had known for such a short amount of time. She always waited until she knew them better. Being a woman meant never knowing if a man was trustworthy enough to be invited into your home and your bed until he had been fully vetted with dinners, drinks, and heavy onlinesleuthing. She just never felt the need to do that with Judas. She just felt that he had a good soul. She didn’t know how she just knew that, but her intuition told her she was right. Tonight was different for her in so many ways, but it felt right.

Tonight she wanted Judas to see her not as someone he worked with and occasionally fucked, but as a woman that needed a man in her life to fill her nights. She wanted him to see her as a woman that he wanted to fill his nights.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she saw a pink heat crawl up her skin as this thought crossed over from her subconscious into her reality. She exhaled a shaky laugh and couldn’t even believe this was in her mind. He would think she was completely insane if he could read her thoughts around him, but that didn’t stop her from knowing he was absolutely what she wanted.

Suddenly her doorbell sounded and she felt an intense panic take hold of her. She desperately wanted him to want her in the same way. Taking one last look in the mirror, she grabbed the silk robe that matched her nightie and made her way to the door.

She took one last steadying breath and opened the door to see the most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes on standing before her.

He sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of her, “My Eliza, you are the most heavenly creature I have ever been blessed to see.”

She knew her face was crimson from the weight of his compliment, but she managed a smile. She was certain she must look like a lovesick teenager staring back at him and it made her even more self-conscious.

Judas couldn't imagine anything more gorgeous than the glow that emanated from her. Every inch of her was perfection on a Godly level. Without hesitation, he reached for her and had his lips on hers before they had made it all the way inside. She moaned against his lips and it sent the most thrilling heat through his body.

Their tongues grazed one another while their hands explored every inch of reachable territory.

Suddenly, Eliza pulled away from him and backed up to the counter, bracing herself against its cold edge. She needed a moment of space because she feared she just might self combust. Panting with lust, she stared back at him and thrilled to see the same kind of need reflected back at her.

Looking at her, he saw her fully. Her robe came just to her mid-thigh and plunged low enough to reveal her silky gown beneath. Her hair, in tumbling waves around her shoulders, framed in the perfect curves of her breasts, heaving with her heavy breathing.

“I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything,” she admitted.

“I’m yours,” he confirmed without question.

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