Free When Chemistry Wins (The Dark Horse Trilogy Book 1) by Cynthia Dane Page A

a grown boy. You shouldn’t be embarrassed to talk to your mother.”
    Once she was gone to talk with the reporters in her son’s room – Probably to snoop through my things too – Hunter pulled out his cell phone again and told Kerri he would call her later. He was getting antsy to see her again.
     

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
     
    Sometimes Kerri couldn’t believe what Hunter did to her, even when he wasn’t around. Lately it seemed she couldn’t go a whole day without thinking of her boyfriend. Well, of course it was natural to think of the man she was infatuated with every day. That’s not the problem. The issue was what it did to her physically.
    She knew she had a problem when she went to bed one night and couldn’t sleep until she got off to thoughts of him touching and kissing her skin. Never before did Kerri have a boyfriend who made her feel so alive both within in her heart and in her loins.
    It was quite irritating.
    The worst part was the timing. As the summer campaigning went into full swing, Kerri was called upon for photo ops, interviews, and parties at which her absence would be noted. Some days it seemed like people were following her every step in an attempt to track what she did and relate it to Raymond Mitchell’s campaign. I definitely can’t be seen with Hunter now. But she did see him, every single day: on the TV, in the newspapers, and even on the family billboards going into downtown. Kerri particularly loved the evening news broadcast asking, “Hunter Hall: most eligible bachelor in the region?”
    Kerri was not impressed seeing the news trying to match her boyfriend with various women from all over the region. She noted that every face appearing on her screen was young, blond, and beautiful. I wonder how the media would react to him dating me.
    “But let’s not forget the most eligible bachelorette,” Kerri muttered. “Can you imagine if he dated her? What a pair they would make!”
    “What was that, dear?”
    She turned to her mother in the back of their Town Car. “Nothing. Just suddenly remembered something, that’s all.”
    They were en route to have lunch with one of her father’s biggest supporters downtown. Kerri couldn’t wait to sit and be nothing but a pretty decoration at the lunch table – her mother was the one who did the talking, and all she could converse about were the changes she made to the Governor’s Mansion over the past few years. Kerri wasn’t expected to be knowledgeable about politics, current events, or even history – anything, really. But as her father always said, “You look great in the pictures, baby.”
    The restaurant was not public, per se, but it was crowded. Most of the state’s elite liked to congregate here on sunny afternoons to talk business and campaigns. Kerri hadn’t sat down for ten minutes to order her salad and wine before she heard men at another table snicker about their affairs. She glanced at them. Mid-level campaigning peons. She would bet money on it.
    Halfway between talk of carpets and upholstery, Kerri received a text message. She waited until everyone was too distracted to chastise her rudeness before reaching into her purse and seeing who called.
    “You’re here too, huh?” It was Hunter. “That your mom? Looks like we’re doing the same thing today.” Kerri suppressed the ripples moving through her body – not exactly kosher to get aroused around present company. “You should think up an excuse to go to the bathroom. Meet me by that supply closet in the corner beside it. I want to see you.”
    She glanced up and covertly searched around the room. Although she didn’t see the Halls anywhere, she wasn’t wont to disbelieve her boyfriend at the moment. “Excuse me,” she said, leaving her purse behind as she got up. To her mother she whispered, “I need to use the restroom. Be back in a bit.”
    She didn’t wait for her mother’s reply, but she did nod her head politely to the other people at