For the Record (Record #3)(72)

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“My great-grandfather had the house built in the thirties and we’ve maintained it ever since.”

He led her back into the house to change into bathing suits, and then they spent the rest of the afternoon doing the most amazing thing she could think of—lounging around lazily by the pool, taking periodic dips to cool off from the blazing South Carolina sun, and walking hand in hand down the beach.

The next day Brady gave her a tour of the town. They rented bicycles and went on a several-mile-long nature ride. When they returned to the beach house, sticky from sweat, they raced each other through the house, stripping down to their bathing suits, and then doing cannonballs into the pool. Andrea screamed at them for getting her wet, but they were lost in the euphoria of being together. They knew that when they returned to reality there would be so many more demands on their time. They wanted to cherish each moment that they had now.

Later that night, they were wrapped up in each other’s arms in bed and Brady was stroking her hair back and kissing her forehead. “You’re so beautiful.”

She sighed and nuzzled closer to him. “You’re not so bad-looking yourself.”

“Well, glad that I meet your approval,” he joked.

“Always.”

“That’s how I feel about you.”

“That I always meet your approval?”

“No,” he whispered. “You’re my always.”

Liz’s breath caught at the word. Always. Forever. Brady was making promises with those words, and he always kept his promises.

“Hey, come with me,” he said, pulling the sheet off of their naked bodies and straightening.

“Why? We were so comfortable.” Her eyes dropped to his dick, already lengthening at the sight of her silhouetted in the light from the moon.

“It’s three in the morning. Everyone’s asleep.” His hands slid down her hips and roughly dragged her toward him. He bent at the waist and started trailing kisses down her stomach. She groaned deep in her throat. “Just come . . . with me.”

“You’ve convinced me,” she said breathily.

He laughed and continued his way down until he was buried between her legs. Her fingers dug into the sheets as she felt his tongue lap and swirl and tease her most sensitive area. He pushed her legs farther apart for him and then slid a finger inside of her.

“More,” she groaned.

He obliged her and pushed a second finger up into her. Her back arched off of the bed as he started sliding his fingers in and out. She felt as if at any moment she might combust. He knew every inch of her body and how to extract the maximum amount of pleasure from each stroke. And just when she thought she couldn’t handle any more, she came with an intensity that made her see stars.

As she came down from her release, Brady pulled on some swim trunks and found a bathing suit for Liz. She stood on wobbly legs and managed to get into her suit with only a little assistance from Brady.

He grabbed her hand and started directing her down the two flights of stairs, through the kitchen, and out onto the back patio. There was only one light on near the cabana overlooking the stairs that led down to the ocean. Otherwise everything was pitch-black and silent.

“Where are we going?” she whispered into the stillness.

“I want to take you in the pool . . . I mean take you to the pool.”

Liz glanced back up to the quiet house. All of the lights were out in all of the windows, but that didn’t mean that no one would look down and see what they were doing.

“Everyone’s asleep,” he repeated. He started guiding her out into the clear blue water. Even with the superheated temperatures, the pool was still cool to the touch, and it took Liz a minute to get used to the water.

Brady turned so that he was walking backward. His hands were on her waist, pulling her deeper into the water. When he was shoulder deep, he scooped her up into his arms and paddled them over to a secluded step on the other side of the pool.

She took a seat on the lowest step and then scooted up to the highest step so her body was in only a few inches of water. She leaned her head back on the top step and sighed. “This is a dream, right? Everything is too surreal, too amazing, too all-consuming, Brady.”

“I want it to always be like that,” he said, running his hands up and down her bare thighs.

“I never thought life could be this good until you.”

“I thought that life was just work before you.”

“Even when you were with other people?”

His eyes found hers in the darkness. “Everyone else worked around my work, but I don’t do that with you. I still have my work priorities, but you’re part of that. I’d rather drive the five hours to D.C. with you than get back an hour early to sit in a meeting. I’d rather have you help me with my speeches and have your beautiful face to return to when I’m finished than anything else. I want you to be happy and have your own life, but I want it to coincide with mine.”

“It will,” she said.

His hands found the strings on her bikini bottoms and untied them. “It was hard to see before that the campaign, the politics, all the work was worthwhile only if I had someone to share it with.”

Liz ran her fingers back through his hair and then pulled him forward for a kiss. Their bodies melded as the words filled her heart with joy at finally finding its match. Brady kept their lips pressed tight together and undid his trunks to release himself from the confines of his shorts.