J. Critch - Sins Of The Flesh

“What’s to know? Just give us the okay to leak it to the press. Dude, this is what you want.” He cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowing in understanding. “Did something happen between you and her?” he asked, suspicious.

“Nothing happened,” Rafael responded. Except a kiss that completely scorched him to his core and left him with a burn no number of cold showers would heal. “But I decided that I don’t want to win like that. I can win this election on my own. I don’t need to ruin her in the process.”

He could tell that Alex knew Rafael was hiding something. “What’s going on?” his friend asked. “Just two days ago, you wanted to end her.”

“Nothing’s going on. Just give me a little time to wrap my head around this. Everything is fine. I assure you. Don’t worry.”

“Fine.” Alex held up his hands in mock surrender. “It’s getting late. I was going to take off, but I stopped by to see if you wanted to head downstairs to the club and get a drink. See if there’s anything fun going on.”

The club, Di Terrestres, was their favorite business, their pet project, the crowned jewel of all The Brotherhood’s operations. When they’d built the office building, they’d left the bottom floors empty for their own fun—a members-only adult playground for the elite. The sex club catered to almost any desire a consenting adult could have.

“Weren’t you with two women last night?” Rafael asked, eyebrow raised at his friend’s insatiable sexual appetite.

Alex shrugged and checked his watch. “That was like twenty-four hours ago.”

Rafael thought of the beautiful women and everything else he could ever want waiting for him downstairs, and he sighed. None of it interested him at the moment. He needed sleep, and a certain petite, green-eyed brunette with a heart-shaped face, who occupied an office at city hall and the forefront of his fantasies. “No, I can’t. I’m going home.”

“Now I know something’s going on.”

“Dude, I haven’t slept since Friday night. I’m allowed to take a night off from debauchery.”

“Yeah, you’re allowed, it’s just never happened before.” He stood. “All right, I’m done. I’m heading down. Join me if you want.”

Rafael shook his head. Tired and horny, but with no way to ease either at Di Terrestres, he sat back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

CHAPTER FOUR

ON MONDAY MORNING, Jessica boosted the speed and incline on the treadmill and she ran, pumping her legs as a surge of energy coursed through her body. She couldn’t get Rafael out of her head. He’d gone to San Francisco to what? Bust her, to show that he knew about her secret life?

She knew how to figure out men, they weren’t complicated creatures, but Rafael was an enigma that she couldn’t decipher. Waking up in her hotel room yesterday morning after only a couple hours of sleep, she’d felt hungover, as if she’d overindulged in alcohol, but she hadn’t. So, she downed some coffee, and had then gone online, checking news sites and gossip rags. She’d even Googled her own name to see if he had leaked her secret life. And she’d found nothing. What was his game?

She thought about the night before, remembering that she hadn’t been drinking, nothing but herbal tea. The only intoxicant she’d experienced had been the taste of Rafael’s lips and the brush of his tongue. The stroke of his fingers.

And what about that kiss? And those hands... She ran harder, trying to rid herself of the memory of his lips and fingers on her. Her muscles screamed as the adrenaline flowed through her, and she remembered being trapped with him in the back of that cab. From the way he touched her, she knew he must be a spectacular lover. It was something she’d always suspected whenever she’d looked across the room to him at meetings, or when they met at functions. The way he held himself, the capable, confident swagger of a man in control. But with Rafael, it wasn’t an act. Even keeping pace with the belt of the treadmill, she felt a desirous hollow between her thighs, one that she could fill with only him. Frustrated, she boosted the speed of the treadmill again, hoping to run it out.

But his knowledge made her vulnerable. He held her life, her career in the palm of his hand and could snatch it all away from her if the whim struck him. Everything she remembered from that night had actually happened, and it hadn’t been her worst nightmare, or her hottest erotic dream. Not only did Rafael now know the secret that she’d successfully hidden for years as a city councillor, but she’d also about dry humped him in the back of a taxi. What a goddamn mess . She considered his proposition—spend time with him, get to know him, and maybe he wouldn’t spill the beans. She didn’t like the man, but to be fair, she didn’t really know him. What she did know was that he had a hard, hot body and he kissed like a demon.

Her heart rate sped up, and it didn’t have anything to do with running. She looked up at the television and saw a newscaster was speaking with Rafael outside city hall. She took out her earbuds and turned the TV volume up to hear him over the sound of her feet pounding.

“I want to encourage business growth. And that’s why we need to work with business owners in our city. All successful cities are built by the people first.”

Jessica rolled her eyes. She hated his act of pretending to care about the little people, when it was clear he only cared about helping business owners. Since announcing his campaign, he’d been eager to talk about his upbringing in a middle-class, immigrant family. But no matter his background, he was now so far removed from anything middle class. He may have started out there, but what did he know about the struggle of the people now, while he looked down upon them from his ivory tower?

Jessica knew the people intimately. She’d devoted herself to community issues surrounding housing and social assistance since she’d become a councillor. Growing up, she’d made a point of volunteering regularly in her neighborhood—even now she would go across town once a month to help out at the shelter she’d become so familiar with as a young student. Looking back, it was probably no surprise she’d ended up in public office.

Rafael might have a good act, but she knew better.

But it didn’t matter; he currently held the upper hand. He knew about her secret life. And even though he hadn’t said anything yet, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t. There were so few people that she trusted, and she was reluctant to add Rafael Martinez to that list.

Frustrated and fatigued, she pounded the end button on the treadmill’s control panel. When the belt stopped, she hunched over the panel, breathing deeply. She knew better, but it didn’t stop her from wanting the man more than she’d ever wanted anyone before.

Jumping down from the machine, Jessica took more calming breaths and drank her water. She picked up her phone and saw the text message from Ben telling her to call him. When she did, her friend sounded excited.

“Girl, have I got news for you.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about Dreamboat Martinez.”

“What about him?”

“I found something out about him.”

It was as if Ben had read her mind. “How did you know—”

“I’ve been talking to some people.”

“Again with these mysterious people you know. I know for a fact you don’t know people.”

He laughed, but then turned serious. “Just listen to me. Have you ever heard of Di Terrestres?”

“Of course I have.” Who hadn’t. It was a well-known hangout for Las Vegas’s superrich and the elite. But she’d never been inside. Not being rich, or elite, she’d never been invited through the front doors.