Three weeks had been too damn long without him. Now that she had him back she never wanted to go this long again. He brought her down to earth and reminded her with just one glance exactly why she was going through all of this . . . why it was all worth it. Because Brady was worth everything.

What had happened to her career—or lack thereof at this point—might have been the exact opposite of everything she had wanted, but after spending the week talking with Professor Mires, she felt a little better about losing her position at the New York Times. Now with Brady’s lips on her, she was letting that get pushed further and further out of her mind.

His hands slid down her sides to grasp her hips and she squirmed suggestively against him. “God, I’ve missed you,” he groaned against her lips. “Do you know how long I’ve been dreaming about these hips straddling me again?”

“How long, Mr. Congressman?” she teased.

“Years, baby.”

“Is that all you’ve been dreaming about me doing?”

“You think my mind is that clean?” he growled, pulling her bottom lip into his mouth and sucking it in. She moaned and her eyes fluttered closed. “I’ve been dreaming about the noises you make when you come, the soft pants as I get you closer, the way your body flushes, the feel of your heated skin against mine.”

The elevator dinged open and Liz was left panting just as he had said, as he stepped backward. “I’m thinking after that show, we should just stay in the elevator,” Liz suggested.

A smirk appeared on his face and he stepped back inside the elevator. He slid a card into the slot at the top and pressed a button. The doors closed, but the elevator didn’t move. Locked.

Liz’s heart rate picked up, and she could feel her core pulse at the thought of what was going through his head right now. He just stared at her for a second, his eyes traveling from the top of her head down to her chest, over the curves of the navy dress, to her legs and then back to her face.

He crossed his arms and that damn smirk stayed in place. “Take off your panties.”

“What?” she asked, even though she knew exactly what he was asking.

“Do it. Now.”

Liz swallowed. Adrenaline kicked into high gear and she felt her whole body respond to being told what to do in a public place where they could so easily get caught. Without thinking more about it, Liz reached up and grasped the edge of the black lacy cheeksters she had worn specifically for him to see; then she dragged them down her legs. He watched with idle curiosity until she held them in her hand.

Brady stuffed them into his pocket, and then walked her until her back was pressed into the wall. His hand dipped beneath her dress until he found her most sensitive area hot, wet, and ready for him at the slightest of touches. He jerked her leg up around his hip and then started swirling his fingers through her wetness and then circling her clit until she was jerking in his grip.

“Brady,” she groaned. “We . . . could get . . . caught.”

“Just suggesting that makes your pussy clench,” he whispered huskily into her ear. “I think you like it.”

She really couldn’t deny that, because the way he was working her with his fingers had her trembling and already close to coming. And he didn’t let up, he kept his thumbs working circles around her clit all the while delving two fingers in and out of her until she dropped her head back and felt the first wave of her orgasm so close.

“Oh, God,” she murmured.

“Come for me, baby. You’re right there. I want to see you come,” he encouraged.

How did he do that? Her whole body tightened at his command, because his fingers had stroked her into submission. And she could do nothing but release at his insistence.

“Most beautiful thing in the world,” he whispered, kissing her on the lips as she tried to get her breathing under control.

Brady released her and then pressed another button on the elevator. Liz straightened her dress and ran her hands back through her hair. The sex had always been off the charts with Brady, but she thought it was incredible that every orgasm was better than the last with him. He took her to new levels with his fingers. She couldn’t imagine where the night would lead them.

The doors dinged open again and she saw a couple walking to the elevator. “Hold the doors, please!” the woman called.

Brady held the door for them and then led Liz down the hallway, on shaky legs. They shared a secret smile, knowing how close they had come to getting caught. Just what he needed to get in the papers for his upcoming election: “Congressman Maxwell Performs Sexual Acts in Public Elevator. Can This Man Help Run the Country?” Seriously, she needed to stop thinking about life in terms of newspaper headlines.

Brady stopped at the last door in the hall. There weren’t very many, which led her to believe that the apartments were huge. He swung the door open and she entered a modern chic bachelor pad.

“Penthouse,” she whispered, taking in the expansive apartment. She guessed that the square footage on the place was more than on the two-bedroom house she rented with Victoria in Chapel Hill. It was huge, but surprisingly empty. It was clear he didn’t spend much time here, but the decorations had been carefully crafted to entertain company.

“Yeah. I didn’t want a house. Nothing up here compares to the real estate back in North Carolina.”

“So you went as far opposite as you could get?” Liz asked.

His house in Chapel Hill was rather traditional, set in soft browns and blues with hardwood floors and dark wooden furniture. His penthouse in D.C. was set in a black, gray, and red palette with an L-shaped sofa and round chairs. The back wall was made entirely of glass overlooking the city, and was probably the best part of the house. The view was gorgeous.

“I don’t spend a great deal of time here. Most of it I spend sleeping or on the phone with you,” he said. He slipped out of his suit jacket and smiled at her expectantly.

Brady lived here. He slept here. He spent his time talking on the phone with her while he was here. She was part of his life, and he wanted her to be. It was just incredible and it made her light up to have it all come to her so suddenly.

“What’s the smile for?” he asked.

“I’m in D.C. with you.”

“You have been for a couple hours now.”

Her smile brightened. “Sometimes it’s hard to grasp that this is really real.”