As if he could tell that she was finished arguing with herself, his head lowered and his lips captured hers. His lips were soft and tender, but eager and demanding…just like him. As soon as he touched her, she wanted more.

Her hands ran up his suit and into his thick, dark hair, pulling on the strands. Brady groaned into her mouth, and Liz smiled, knowing she had found a weak spot. His arms reached all the way around her, yanking her against him and into his lap. Her dress fell askew as she pressed her warm body against him. Their tongues volleyed while Liz kissed him back with a ferocity that rivaled his own heightened desire.

How she had ever lived without his kisses in her life prior to this moment was an utter mystery. The raw intensity of their longing for each other surprised her. She had never felt so wanton before.

Yet, at the same time, she couldn’t seem to control or stop it. Not that she wanted to.

They kissed feverishly for the remainder of the ride, coming up for air sparingly. Her lips were swollen and her breath was coming in spurts. She could feel every single place where her body was touching his like flames scorching through her skin.

The limo came to a stop all too soon. They slowly disentangled their limbs and separated. Brady refused to let go of her hand even as she attempted to straighten out her dress.

“I could stay like this with you…” he murmured softly, trailing off as he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her there.

Liz wondered if he had meant to say forever at the end of that sentence.

The door clicked open behind her, and Brady broke away, cutting off whatever he had meant to say afterward. Liz reached for her purse and exited the limo with Brady close behind.

She realized that, unsurprisingly, they were at an upscale hotel in downtown Charlotte. It had an all-glass front and an imposing exterior, and Brady walked right into the hotel as if he owned the place. Liz tried to give off half the amount of confidence he had. She was sure that she failed, but it didn’t matter. No one would spare two seconds to glance at her compared to him.

They walked right through the black-and-gray marble-tiled lobby with its dark mahogany walls, glass tables topped with strange, expensive-looking, ornamental glass decorations, and dark slate countertops. Brady didn’t check in, and Liz wondered how long he had been in Charlotte or if he had checked in to the hotel earlier today. He punched the elevator for the top floor and it lifted them up immediately.

Brady smiled at her reassuringly as the elevator took its time taking them up. All she could think about was having his lips on her once more. Those beautiful lips smiling down at her and only her.

Liz had liked plenty of guys before, but it had never felt like this. Maybe it was because he was completely unattainable. Maybe it was because there was no way this could go anywhere at all. Maybe it was just because she wanted him. Simple lust that she was giving in to. She didn’t even like him…not really. How could she like him if she didn’t even know him and the only things that she did know about him, she disagreed with?

For some reason that didn’t bother her as she thought it might.

Brady took her hand again when they stepped out of the elevator and showed her the way down the hallway. He chuckled softly to himself as he slid the keycard into the door.

“What’s so funny?” Liz asked. He had such a great laugh.

“This is the presidential suite,” he told her with a shrug.

“You’re not the president,” she said, arching an eyebrow.

“Not yet,” he stated confidently, pulling her through the open doorway.

She rolled her eyes dramatically. “A little ahead of yourself, aren’t you? Not even sitting in Congress and you’re putting yourself in the White House.”

“I didn’t come here to talk politics with you, baby,” Brady said, pushing the door closed behind them. “Lecture me after I’m done with you.”

Before she had a chance to retort, Brady slammed her backward into the doorframe, her body colliding with the hard wooden door. She heard a dull thud echo around the room and wondered if the sound was as loud on the outside. Would people know what they were doing in the dark hotel room? Did she care?

She stared from under thick, black lashes at the man before her, seized with her growing desire. His hands came down hard and fast on either side of her head, rapping against the wood. She felt the vibrations ring in her ears, and her heart sped up double time. She stared up at him, trapped in his deep chocolaty eyes, lost to the world she lived in. His eyes consumed her, devoured her, absorbed her—and she was fully clothed.

Fuck! She wanted him. She wanted him badly enough that she all but begged him to continue. She could feel the heat radiating off of their bodies, the electrifying atmosphere, and the ever-present tension from the minimal space between them. He was so close, so damn close. His lips were hovering only inches above her, tempting her, teasing her. She swallowed hard, her chest heaving with the exertion it took to not throw herself at him.

“Brady,” she groaned as his hand moved from the doorframe to trail gingerly across her cheek, flutter down the curve of her neck, brush against her exposed collarbone, and continue to her breast and waist. She thought she might combust.

“No talking,” he growled, circling his arm around her waist and pulling her hips away from the wall. Her feet slid forward against the carpeted floor as he pushed himself against her, his lower half covering her body. Her breath caught at the feel of him through his suit pants. Damn!

Liz tried to hold her focus, but she was having trouble thinking about anything but what he was pressing up against her. She was burning with desire, and any thought of stopping had flown out the window when she had been thrown up against the door. Not that she had ever given any real thought to it to begin with.

Brady leaned forward, pressing against her harder, and kissed the same trail he had made with his hand. She whimpered, trying to keep from squirming at his slow progression. His grip on her waist tightened as he kissed across her breast and down her stomach. She could hardly keep her eyes open, but she had to watch him as he knelt before her.

She would never forget the day she brought a Senator to his knees. She couldn’t keep the smirk off her face at the thought.

“What’s that look for?” he asked, his eyes meeting hers. She tried not to look too devious. He immediately stood, and she bit down on her lip, looking up at him, refusing to break his rule. “You can answer,” he told her.

“I was thinking about bringing a Senator to his knees,” she said, her voice throaty and hoarse, trying to keep her desire in check long enough to speak.

“You think I’m the only one who will be on their knees?” he asked pointedly. She knew she would do just about anything for him if he continued. Brady moved forward and kissed her lips. She sighed into him, and he pushed her hands over her head. Breaking away from her, leaving her wanting more, he asked, “If I asked you to get on your knees right now, would you?”

Liz nodded without hesitation. She would do anything he asked in that moment.

“Good,” he said, pleased. His hands found her waist again, gripping her securely and possessively. She never wanted him to let go.

Sliding his grip down across her butt and grabbing her thighs, Brady hoisted her legs up and around his waist. She immediately circled her arms around his neck and brought herself closer to him. He nipped at her bottom lip, causing her to writhe against him. What a tease!

He chuckled at her enthusiasm and managed to still her hips from their enticing motion as he carried her across the room. She could feel him digging his hands into the soft flesh on the backs of her thighs, holding her in place. She didn’t know why, but that was making her even hotter than his teasing antics.

She hadn’t gotten a glimpse of the room, as Brady had never flicked on the lights, but she could grasp that it was massive. He kicked open a partially closed double door that led to a master suite, and tossed her backward onto the king-sized bed. She lay sprawled across the comforter, her dress hiked up and one sleeve falling off her shoulder, but she didn’t readjust. She could tell he was enjoying the view.

Her eyes followed him as he slid out of his jacket, then slowly unbuttoned each button on his stark white dress shirt. He shrugged the thing off of his shoulders and tossed it on the empty desk. His white undershirt came off next, and she marveled at him as he revealed the incredibly toned six-pack lying beneath. Why he would ever cover that up was beyond Liz’s comprehension. She wanted to run her hands across it and lick her way down. He even had those gorgeous sexy lines that led right to where he was popping the button on his pants.

The zipper fell to the bottom, and her intake of breath was more than evident as his pants fell off his hips to pool at his feet. The erection beneath his boxer briefs was bulging, and she wanted nothing more than to take him right then and there.

He crawled across the bed toward her, and she suddenly realized how clothed she was in comparison. “Don’t,” he said immediately as she tried to shimmy out of her dress. She stilled her hands and waited impatiently. “I want to do it.”

He reached out and grabbed her foot, yanking her flat against the bed and bunching her dress up around her waist in the process. She felt exposed in her cream thong, but the way he was looking at her made her forget all her worries. He was clearly enjoying her athletic build.