Off the Record (Record #1)(21)

“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” Liz said, playing along. Her body was humming with the playful banter.

“I’m sure we will.” The sentence hung in the air between them. Liz was holding her breath. His gaze was too intense. It was like the night back at the club when he had fixed her with that same stare.

“I read your article,” he said, ending the silence.

Liz swallowed. Great. Why was he even talking to her after reading it? She hadn’t been mean, but she hadn’t been gentle either. “I bet you loved it,” she said with a hint of sarcasm.

“Love might not be the right word. Is there something stronger than love?”

“Hate?” she offered.

Brady chuckled and shook his head. “I particularly like the part about me being—what did you say?—power hungry with my only interests in money? How did you write that, knowing I have other interests?”

He looked at her pointedly, and she swallowed hard. He certainly had other interests…like throwing her off balance.

“I was speaking politically. Talking about work.”

“Well, are you working tonight? I don’t see your voice recorder. No notepad…”

Liz shook her head. “No, not tonight.” Well, not exactly.

“Good. Then our conversation is off the record?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She wished he hadn’t clarified, but she wasn’t going to write another article about him yet.

“Of course,” she said, holding her hands up to show him she wasn’t hiding a microphone or anything.

“Then would you like to dance?” he asked.

Liz shook her head, glad she had her cheesecake in hand. “No. Uh, no, thank you. I prefer my cheesecake to the waltz.”

“Oh, come on. Everyone likes to dance when they have a good partner, and I happen to know where you can find one.”

“Are you referring to yourself?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Only the best.”

“Sorry, I don’t dance,” Liz told him. She stuck her fork into the cheesecake to emphasize her disagreement.

He gave her a look that said he was calling bullshit on the remark and took the cheesecake from her hand. “You can have this later. Right now, we’re going to dance.” Liz glared. “Don’t look so sad about it. I promise I’ll show you a good time.” The comment was laced with seduction.

He grasped her elbow softly in his hand and veered toward the dance floor. He placed her delicious-looking Oreo cheesecake on a table as they passed by.

“Why can’t you find someone else?” she asked. She didn’t really want him to do that.

“Are there other people in the room?” He placed his hand on her waist and pulled her close. Her breath left her in a whoosh with their bodies so close together, her left hand moving up to his shoulder, and their hands clasping together gently.

“How are the airplanes treating you today?” she managed to ask.

“Much better now that I have you in my arms.”

Liz didn’t get the chance to comment as the next song began and Brady swept her away into the crowd. She knew she was a bad dancer, but he was amazing. Was there anything he wasn’t good at?

His hand held her easily in place and she dared a glance up into his eyes. They were smiling down on her, and she felt like the only person in the room under that gaze. Here she was, dancing with a sitting State Senator.

“I thought you said you didn’t dance,” he observed.

“I don’t,” she told him.

“Well, what are we doing right now then?”

“You’re currently dragging me around a dance floor. I’m not sure I’m actually participating at all,” Liz teased.

“At least you’re humoring me,” he said, pulling her against his chest.

She leaned her head into him and reminded herself to breathe. They were just dancing.

His hand pressed into her back, his thumb pressing into the soft flesh beneath her dress. The electricity rolling off of his fingertips and into her body was like a constant current wherever he was touching her. How was he able to keep their movements even? She was melting in his arms.

“I do have one question,” he breathed into her ear.

“Um…” she hesitated, clearing her throat. “What’s that?” Where were her reporter instincts? Why wasn’t she pushing him away? Why couldn’t she keep her heart under control?

“I was curious how you were able to speak so strongly about my character when you haven’t had the chance to get to know me.”

“My article was based on your voting record. It was an accurate portrayal,” she responded unapologetically. His thumb trailed a circle into her lower back, soothing away her defenses.

“You should know that voting records don’t always tell the whole story,” he said with a smile. “Sometimes you really have to get to know a person before judging them so thoroughly.”

“You’re not going to change my mind about what I wrote, no matter how charming you are.”

“So, you think I’m charming?” he asked with a smirk that said he already knew he was.

She humphed and looked away. The heat was still rising between them, and she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of giving in.