Off the Record (Record #1)(107)

“Especially this,” he said, his voice heated.

Liz shook her head, pushed off of him, and stood. “You can’t even take this seriously. Why does it always have to be sex first and talk later? Why can’t you just answer my questions? Why am I here, Brady?”

“Because I wanted you here.”

“That simple, huh?”

“Yes, why do you have to insist on complicating things? Do you not like what we have going on?” Brady asked, standing and towering over her. “Do you not want me to f**k you?”

“You know what, Brady? Sometimes I don’t like what we have going on, and sometimes I don’t want you to f**k me,” Liz told him, turning and walking away from him.

She was so red-hot with anger. Her skin was superheating, and she felt tears prick her eyes.

“Don’t you see how much hiding this sucks? Don’t you even care that it’s hurting me? That I was so desperate to have someone acknowledge me in public, I had to go away for a weekend while you were getting bitched at for ever seeing me? Doesn’t that feel wrong to you? I just can’t keep feeling second best to everything else in your life.”

“What do you want from me, Liz? I have feelings for you. I wouldn’t have had you come here if that wasn’t true. But I told you from the very beginning that I wanted you and the campaign. Those two things don’t always coincide, and you said you were okay with that.”

Brady crossed the room, spun Liz around, and stared intently down into her eyes.

“Those things don’t change whether I love you or not.”

Liz’s breath caught at that word. She was sure he would never use that word to her. It didn’t matter if it was in the most roundabout way imaginable. Brady Maxwell had told her that he loved her.

Sure, he had prefaced that with things don’t change, but she was having a hard time not swooning. He loved her.

It wasn’t enough. It could never be enough to make it all better. But it was something to hold on to…something that she had.

As her mind replayed Brady’s words over and over again, her anger about him standing her up and going to dinner with someone else was slowly evaporating. She hadn’t expected him to ever tell her. Not that he had come right out and said it by all means, but it was still nice to hear that word off of his lips.

“Liz,” he whispered, sliding his hand around to the small of her back and pulling her in close, “forgive me for not calling. I know this must be hard on you, but I do try to do right by you as best I can.” His head dropped down low, and he planted a soft kiss on her lips, before resting his forehead against hers.

“I’m just…having a hard time,” she admitted, threading a hand up into his dark brown hair and trying to hold on to her fight even though he was draining it all out of her.

“I know, baby,” he murmured, pulling her hair lightly to tilt her head to one side.

“I want us to be public,” Liz finally told him.

Brady stiffened only marginally before licking and kissing down her earlobe and to her neck. “You know we can’t do that. I have the primary in two weeks, and the general election in November. You know that.”

“I know,” she murmured, goose bumps breaking out on her skin.

His free hand slid up her loose shirt and teasingly traced along her ribs. “We can’t be like that, baby.”

“Brady,” she said, pushing him away, “don’t think that all of your sweet words and tempting touches are going to make this better!”

Brady shook his head, grasped her shirt in his hands, and pulled her forcefully toward him. “Listen, I apologized for what happened, but I can’t make it up to you if you won’t let me. So let me.”

She sighed, wanting to stay angry with him. She just wanted to make him see what the hell he was doing to her. “How are you going to make it up to me?”

He smirked. “I didn’t fly you all the way out here so I could f**k you in a hotel room. I can do that at home, baby.”

Liz’s mouth popped open at his words, wondering where else he would have sex with her if not in the gorgeous suite he had rented for her.

“Come with me. I have something to show you.”

Liz contemplated continuing their conversation, but knew that it was over. She had told him how she felt about the situation, and he had told her that he loved her…kind of. That was going to be as much as she could get…for now.

She followed him out of the room and into the elevator. “Brady,” she muttered as the elevator carried them down, “who did you go to dinner with tonight?”

“Some college buddies I played basketball with,” he told her. “They were giving a donation to the campaign.”

“All guys?” she prodded.

He smirked at her as if he knew where she was going with this. “No. I had a date. She was a girl I went to college with who is now an environmental lobbyist. Not much of a date.”

“I’d sure hope not,” Liz said, feeling the knot begin to untwist in her stomach.

Brady laughed at her words. “I thought you might think that.”

“Anything going on between the two of you?” she whispered.

“Baby,” he chided, shaking his head.

“Well?”

“You should know there’s not.”