Fatal Accusation Read online

  He couldn’t have that, so he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her. “I’m out on a hot date with my best girl. I’m great.” Lowering his voice, he added, “And even though I can’t wait to get my best girl home so I can be alone with her, I’m really enjoying the time with our friends.”

  “I am too. Tonight is all about you. Whatever you want.”

  Hearing that, he wanted to say to hell with the friends he rarely got to see. “Is it my birthday and no one told me?”

  Sam laughed and kissed his neck, taking a little bite that made him instantly hard. “No, but we can celebrate like it is when we get home.”

  “Let’s go now.” The Nelson news might’ve happened a year ago for all he cared when his wife was handing out birthday-level favors.

  “Easy, big guy. It’ll still be your not-birthday when we get home. It took an act of God to get you here, now let’s go enjoy our friends for a little while longer.”

  Sam took his hand and led him back to the table, and he let her, because he’d follow her anywhere she chose to take him.

  CHAPTER TWO

  THE NELSON NEWS had spiked Sam’s anxiety, but she went out of her way not to let Nick see that as they rode home from Lilia’s in the Secret Service motorcade. He didn’t need to know that the idea of him becoming president freaked her out to the point of panic, not when he had enough of his own worries. The insomnia that plagued him during the best of times was exacerbated by stress, and she was determined to make sure he was relaxed so he would get some badly needed rest.

  Whatever was going to happen with the latest presidential scandal didn’t have to touch them. At least not tonight.

  Sam’s niece Brooke had stayed with the kids while they were out. At almost nineteen, she had grown into a gorgeous young woman with long dark hair, blue eyes and flawless skin that Sam would kill for. Brooke was now in college, but home for the weekend and had jumped at the chance to make some extra money.

  Nick handed her a hundred-dollar bill.

  Brooke tried to give it back. “That’s too much.”

  “You have no idea how much date night with my wife meant to me. You made it possible. That’s not enough.”

  “Thank you.” Brooke went up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “I had fun hanging with Scotty and the twins. They’re so adorable, and he’s great with them.”

  “He really is,” Sam said. “He loves being a big brother.”

  “It’s terrible what happened to them.” Alden and Aubrey had lost their parents in a home invasion. “But I’m so happy they landed with you guys.”

  “They’ve changed our lives for the better,” Nick said.

  Sam put an arm around her niece. “We didn’t get to talk earlier. How’re you holding up since Gramps passed away?”

  “I find myself in tears at the weirdest times,” Brooke confessed. “I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

  “I know.”

  “It must be so hard for you. Everyone knew you were his favorite.”

  “We were all his favorites.”

  “You were his BFF, Sam.”

  Sam shrugged. “And he was mine.” She tugged playfully on a strand of Brooke’s hair. “Your mom tells me there’s a boy...”

  Brooke rolled her eyes, which reminded Sam of the girl’s tumultuous teenage years. “My mom has a big mouth.”

  “And this is news to you? Spill it, sister.”

  “His name is Ryan, and it’s new, so don’t freak out.”

  Sam had to force herself not to laugh. “Wouldn’t dream of it. I’ll just say that I’m happy you’re happy. That’s all that matters to me—and your mom.”

  “Thanks.” Brooke hugged and kissed her. “I’ll see you soon.”

  “Hope so.”

  “Thanks for the C-note, Nick.”

  “You’re more than welcome. Thanks for babysitting.”

  “Anytime.”

  Sam walked her to the door that Nate, the Secret Service agent on duty, opened for them. “Text me when you get home.”

  “You’re just like my mom.”

  “Gee, wonder how that happened? Love you, kid.”

  “Love you too, you pain in the butt.”

  Sam laughed and watched Brooke take the ramp they no longer needed down to the sidewalk. At some point, they would take down the ramps that’d been erected here and at her father’s house down the street to accommodate his wheelchair. That didn’t need to happen yet. Sam waited until Brooke was in her car and waved as she drove off, flashing her lights as she went by the house, heading for the Secret Service checkpoint.

  “’Night, Nate,” Sam said to the agent when she went back inside.

  “Good night, Mrs. Cappuano, and if I may add... Your niece is an impressive young woman.”

  “Yes, she certainly is,” Sam said, intrigued by the handsome agent’s comment. She wondered if he knew the half of just how impressive Brooke was after having survived and thrived following a gang rape her senior year of high school.

  “You have a good night, ma’am.”

  “You too.”

  Sam went upstairs and noted that the agent usually stationed in the hallway when Scotty and the twins were home wasn’t there. She ducked her head in to check on the twins, who were wrapped up in each other and fast asleep in the big bed that they shared. Sam pulled the comforter over them and ran her fingers through their soft hair. They were so damned cute, and it had taken about four seconds for her and the rest of their family to fall madly in love with the children Nick called “the Littles.” She glanced at the photo of their parents on the bedside table before bending to kiss them both.

  When she looked in on Scotty, she found he’d once again fallen asleep with the TV and light on. Sam shut off the TV and adjusted his blanket before kissing his forehead. Their little boy was growing into a handsome young man who bore a startling resemblance to Nick, which was an amazing coincidence, as they were technically not related.

  Technically not related... She hated those words. They were as related as any father and son could be, and she loved that Scotty looked like his dad. She shut off the bedside light and left his room, closing the door behind her and heading into her own room, where she found a note on the bed written in her husband’s distinctive scrawl.

  Date night continues upstairs. Hurry up.

  She smiled. So that’s where the Secret Service agent had gone. Nick had told the agent to take a break because he was well aware she hated that the agents knew they were headed upstairs for a booty call. In her dresser, she found the nightgown she’d recently ordered online that she’d been saving for a special occasion. Although every occasion with her sexy husband was special.

  In the bathroom, she applied the vanilla-and-jasmine-scented lotion that Nick went crazy over and put on the nearly see-through nightgown. He would expect her to be naked under the decidedly unsexy robe she wore to walk upstairs, so she hoped he enjoyed her little surprise.

  When she thought about the Nelson news, her stomach ached as she wondered how it would affect her and Nick. The president had barely survived the scandal his son Christopher had caused by trying to discredit Nick and Sam. Christopher hated that the young, handsome vice president had become the most popular politician in America. They’d learned that Christopher Nelson had presidential aspirations of his own and wanted Nick out of the way. Now he was in prison awaiting trial for murdering Sam’s ex-husband, Peter, among other crimes.

  After holding their breath for weeks while waiting to see if Nelson would be forced to resign, Sam and Nick had begun to relax. And now this.

  As she brushed her hair and teeth, Sam thought of Gloria Nelson, whom she’d gotten to know fairly well since Nick became vice president, and especially since Christopher’s crimes came to light. Her heart ached for the woman who’d already been through so much—and now this humil
iating betrayal by her husband.

  And what had he been thinking, having an affair as the most closely scrutinized human being on the planet?

  Sam left her bedroom and headed toward the stairs to the loft Nick had created as their place to escape from the realities of everyday life. Halfway up the stairs, she caught the distinctive scent of coconut from the candles he’d lit and heard the Polynesian music that reminded them of their honeymoon and anniversary trips to Bora Bora.

  At the top of the stairs, she stopped short at the sight of Nick curled onto his side, wearing only a pair of cotton pajama pants, and sleeping soundly. It was so rare for her to see him sleeping that she found herself staring at him for a few minutes, noting the smooth olive-toned skin, the defined chest and abdomen that came from regular workouts, the dark hair that she loved to run her fingers through and the lips that kissed her with everything from tenderness to fiery passion.

  She removed her robe and settled next to him on her side, facing him.

  “Took you long enough,” he muttered, keeping his eyes closed.

  Sam placed her hand on his face. “Shhh, you’re actually sleeping.”

  “I wasn’t sleeping.”

  “Yes, you were.”

  He took the hand from his face and placed it on top of his hard cock. “I’m very much awake because I knew my beautiful wife was on her way.”

  “Nick, you need the rest more than you need me.”

  He opened hazel eyes that burned with desire for her. You would think that after all this time she would cease to be amazed by how fiercely he wanted her. You would be wrong.

  “I need nothing more than I need you, Samantha.” He blinked, seeming to realize she was wearing something he hadn’t seen before. “What have we here?”

  “This old thing?”

  “Come closer. I can’t see you all the way over there.”

  Less than a foot of space separated them, but Sam slid into his waiting embrace and breathed in the scent of home.

  “Much better.” He ran his hand over her back and down over her ass. “Where did this sexy little number come from?”

  “The internet. Where else?” They joked about being prisoners in their own home since he became vice president. Sam couldn’t recall the last time she’d shopped in an actual store. They had so little time together. If he couldn’t go with her, she didn’t want to go.

  He ran his index finger from her throat to her chest to the deep valley between her breasts, the place he’d once told her he’d like to be when he took his last breath. “What did we ever do without the internet?”

  “It does come in handy when there’s no time to shop or do anything other than work and take care of kids.”

  “You’re an awesome multitasker, my love.”

  “I suppose.”

  He propped himself up on his elbow. “You suppose? Everyone who knows you marvels at what you get done in a day.”

  She looked up at him. “I worry that I’m not giving the twins enough of myself and my time.”

  “Sam... They may be little, but they know who stepped up for them and who got justice for their parents. They adore you.”

  “I just think about their mom, how she did everything with them and I can’t do that. She was the crafty mom. That’ll never be me.”

  “It doesn’t have to be you, babe. They just need you to love and protect them, which you do every single day.”

  “I love them so much, which is just amazing to me. We didn’t even know them a month ago, and now...”

  “Now they’re part of us.”

  “Yes, exactly.”

  “And they know it, Sam. They know we love them and that we’re here for them, even when we’re not physically in this house. We’ve gotten them into therapy and made sure they feel loved all the time. The most important things are covered.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He unleashed the smile that had left her powerless to resist him from the first second she met him. “I grew up with none of the things we give them every day. So I’m very sure that they’re getting what they need, even if it’s not exactly what they had before.”

  “I hate to think of you being so lonely as a kid. It makes me crazy.”

  “My adulthood has more than made up for my childhood.”

  “Sometimes I want to find your mother and throat punch her for what she did to you—what she continues to do to you.”

  “She’s not worth the bother.”

  “No, she isn’t, but you should know that I fantasize about throat punching her.”

  Chuckling, he kissed her. “What else do you fantasize about?”

  “All kinds of things.”

  He unleashed a wolfish grin. “Oh, do tell.”

  “I dream about us having a month off to spend every day together.”

  “That’d be a dream come true for sure.”

  “A month probably wouldn’t be enough.”

  “It definitely wouldn’t be enough. What else do you fantasize about?” As he nuzzled her neck, he slid his hand down to cup her ass, bringing her in tight against his erection.

  “I fantasize about going back to Bora Bora.”

  “We can go for our anniversary.”

  “What about our three children?”

  “We can go when Elijah is on spring break, and he can be here with the kids.” Elijah, a student at Princeton, was the twins’ older brother and legal guardian.

  “Ohhh, I do like the way you think.”

  “I like the way you smell and the way you feel and the way you look and the way you do everything.”

  “Really?” she asked, amused. “Everything?”

  “Every. Single. Thing.”

  “You must really love me.”

  “I really, really do.”

  Kissing him ranked among her favorite things in life. Anything with him topped her favorite things list, but when they were able to be together this way, in this place he had created for them to escape from the difficult reality of their daily lives, this was the best of the best. For the longest time, they only kissed. Hours and days could’ve passed for all she knew or cared as everything else fell away leaving only the undisputed love of her life.

  His hands moved over her body, arousing her to the point of madness, but still he did nothing but kiss her. “I could do this every minute for the rest of my life and never get bored.”

  “You’d get bored eventually.”

  He shook his head. “Never.”

  Sam put her hands above her head, surrendering completely to him.

  “Samantha.” His lips were soft and persuasive as they moved to her breasts, the silk of her gown abrading her tight nipples. “You’re so incredibly beautiful. Tonight I was thinking how it never gets old that I get to go home with the incomparable Samantha Holland Cappuano. My dream girl.”

  He aroused her as much with his words as his hands and lips and the light drag of his tongue over her silk-covered nipples. Moving down, he continued to worship her until she was writhing beneath him.

  Sam spread her legs to make room for him where she wanted him most. “Nick...”

  “Hmmm?”

  She raised her hips to tell him what she wanted.

  “Is my baby being impatient?”

  “Me? Impatient? Never.”

  His snort of laughter made her smile too. “No, you’re just the epitome of patience. And by now you know that the more you try to rush me, the slower I’ll go.”

  Her growl of frustration was greeted by laughter from her beloved. It was a good thing he always made it worth the wait, she thought, as he propped her legs on his shoulders and opened her to his tongue. And God, he was good at that. She, who’d had such trouble finding sexual pleasure in other relationships, could get there almost effortlessly with him. He played he
r like a maestro. Her maestro.

  His tongue and fingers were right where she needed them, and as the sensations grew and multiplied, she rode the wave that swelled with every stroke of his tongue and deep thrust of his fingers inside her. Waves of bliss arrived in an explosive storm that touched every part of her, leaving her boneless and wrecked and yet somehow energized too. How he managed to make her feel this way was one of life’s greatest mysteries, and the only one she had no desire to solve.

  When he moved up, she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight to the feeling that could only be described as magical.

  He entered her with a slow, smooth glide that took her breath away, like it always did.

  She had to remind herself that she wasn’t allowed to scream. Not here with their children sleeping downstairs and the Secret Service nearby. But she wanted to scream from the powerful desire they generated together. She bit his shoulder, which seemed to make him crazy as he picked up the pace, driving into her until they were both straining for the peak.

  Like they’d charged up the side of a mountain and then leaped from the top, they soared, in total harmony as their bodies came together in a moment that felt almost holy.

  Much of her life was a red-hot mess, but this...

  This was perfection. They were perfection.

  CHAPTER THREE

  SAM AND NICK spent all day Sunday with their three kids, while ignoring the incessant ringing of Nick’s personal cell phone. After a trip to the twins’ favorite playground in their old neighborhood, they went to the movies, played video games at the movie theater for an hour and then headed home for pizza. It had been a perfect family day that the Secret Service had helped them pull off with a minimum of fuss. The Nelson affair story dominated the news cycle, but by focusing on their family, the second couple had been able to avoid the unfolding drama for one more day.

  Overnight, storm clouds rolled into the District, and rumbles of thunder shook the house in the morning as Sam and Nick tried to get three kids up and moving.

  Aubrey was scared of the thunder and clung to Sam, who felt guilty that she had to get to work and had to send the little girl to school. She’d much rather stay home and snuggle with her all day the way Aubrey’s mother probably would’ve done. While investigating the murders of Jameson and Cleo Armstrong, she’d learned that Cleo had been the kind of fully engaged mother that Sam could never be—crafts and baking and playdates and elaborate birthday parties.