Page 69 of Caught By the Chief of Staff

“Wow,” I whisper. “What a bitch.”

We wind our way back through the crowd, and Jake steals Grace away, their duty for the evening done. Jules and I say goodnight, and then Rick materializes beside me. The way he moves so quietly always surprises me.

“Ready to go?” he asks me.

“I thought you’d never ask,” I reply, making Jules laugh.

“Be good, kids,” she says, kissing me on the cheek, and then she too is gone.

Rick leads me out to the town car that is waiting to take us home. He loads me up inside and takes me back to his house. I don’t even think about going to my own empty home. There’s nothing there for me without Rick and Rachel. He’s somehow cemented my life and his together in just a few days.

He thanks the driver and leads me into the house. My feet are killing me, and I can’t wait to take my shoes off. It’s a shame to drop three-thousand-dollar shoes by the door, but I literally can’t go another step with them on my feet tonight.

Rick takes my hand in his and leads me up the stairs to his bedroom. Gently, tenderly, we undress each other, carefully folding our fancy clothes in neat piles or draping them over the bench at the foot of the bed.

And only when we both stand before each other with ourselves completely laid bare does he lead me to the bed, where he makes love to me in a way that he never has before, with a passion so wild and a love that is felt soul-deep.

And when we both find completion held tight in each other’s arms, Rick tucks the covers around us, and I fall asleep safely in his arms, never knowing it would probably be the last time, because he had a plan in place to change the game and smoke out the kidnappers, and for that lack of knowledge, I was going to die.