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“How did it feel to grow up here? This town is so lovely.”
“It was nice. We went between here and the house in Maryland when Congress was in session. I spent a lot of nice moments here with my siblings. The treehouse brings back a lot of memories.”
Leaning back on my palms, I stare at her while she gazes out the window. “All you really need for a good life is beautiful surroundings and good company. With a life as fast-paced as mine, it’s easy to forget that.”
Vivienne smiles, rubbing at her forearm absentmindedly. I lick my lips inadvertently, imagining it is me trailing my hands across her skin.
“It’s beautiful,” I continue, rolling my neck and relishing the soft evening breeze. “I’m very glad we came here.”
I’m making strides in patching up the rift with Vivienne’s family, and it’s making me feel more grounded. I’m taking this seriously. I’m sure my father will be pleased to hear that I was getting tired of that life. I certainly am pleased with it.
When I was young and dumb, partying and sleeping around felt like the pinnacle of my existence. Now I know there’s so much more to life than that. Vivienne is lending me a new sense of purpose, one that makes me excited to wake up and be by her side.
Does this really have to end? I don’t want it to. Does she?
“Did you have a fun childhood?” I ask.
“It was pretty normal, all things considered. Half the time we were here, half the time following Dad to D.C. I didn’t realize he was one of the most powerful people in the country until I was older.”
“Yeah, I know that feeling,” I say. She’s a lot more like me than I ever realized.
“My mom always seemed like the powerful one. One summer here, we had the cops called on us because someone broke a fire hydrant. I wasn’t afraid of my dad, but Mom terrified me. Once the cops found out we were the kids of Delano Carter, they apologized to us for coming.”
“Yikes.” I chuckle, scooting a bit closer to her. “I’d get into some trouble, like you’d expect. I ruined one of my father’s dinner parties by throwing an octopus onto the table.”
“What?”
“I was mad because they started without me. I was really excited for this dinner party because they were serving one of my favorite foods at the time, caviar on blinis.”
“How old were you?”
“Around ten, maybe.”
Vivienne laughs, shaking her head. “My dad shielded me from a lot of those events. I was in my teens before I had caviar.”
“Anyway, I was really excited about the whole thing. I went through a lot of effort making sure I was wearing some nice clothes for the occasion. All for my younger brother, Ishmael, to tell me that they had started eating without me.”
As Vivienne covers her mouth and laughs at me, I continue.
“I tracked down one of the household staff who was handling these exotic sea creatures for Christian’s birthday party. And I took one of the octopuses from its tank, the biggest one, and I brought it to the dining room. Then I flung it onto the table. You can imagine the chaos, I’m sure.”
“Oh, my God.”
“Everyone was really mad at me. But I was mad at them, so I guess it evened out.” I’m close to Vivienne at this point, able to reach out and caress her face. I contemplate it.
“So you’ve always been a little wild,” she says.
“Yep. Since I was a baby. I hope you don’t mind that flaw about your husband.” I casually place my hand on her knee, and it feels electric. When she doesn’t pull away, I keep going.
“Not at all. It makes you even more exciting.”
Exciting. That’s all I need to hear.
Placing my hand underneath her chin, I pull her forward and bring her into a soft kiss, testing the waters. It’s gentle at first. I’m following her cues for going further.
The moment she starts sneaking her tongue across my bottom lip, I roar to life. I pull her in close as she wraps her arms around my neck, moaning softly as she bucks into me. My dominant hand trails her body, starting at her hair and coursing down her neck.
My fingers skim over her breasts, which earns me a sweet gasp that is muffled by my mouth. I enter uncharted waters as my fingers voyage down between her legs. As I’m about to slip my hands underneath the fabric of her underwear, she stops me with a hand.
