Free By Design by J. A. Armstrong

noted.
    “It was a long week.”
    “Are you feeling all
right?” Jameson asked.
    “Worried about me,
Jameson?”
    “Maybe,” Jameson
admitted. Candace had sounded drained all week when the two had spoken. Jameson
was positive that the senator had drifted off during one of their conversations
earlier in the week.
    “I’m fine. It’s just
that time of year.”
    Jameson was
skeptical, but she let it lie. “Well, can you rest for a bit before this…”
    “Shindig?” Candace
finished the thought. “Yes, I think I will. Just wanted to be sure you were all
set.”
    “I feel a little
funny coming empty handed,” Jameson said.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Should I stop for
some chicken wings?” Jameson joked.
    “Don’t tempt me!”
Candace laughed. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
    “That you will,”
Jameson promised.
    Candace laid back and
closed her eyes. Only one picture painted her thoughts as she drifted off to
sleep; a snarky architect .
    ***
    Candace stood at the
railing of her upstairs balcony. She was
unsure if the chill that suddenly
traveled up her arms was due to the brisk December air or the presence that she
sensed behind her. She closed her eyes as Jameson’s hands caressed her arms.
“What are you doing out here?” Jameson whispered.
    Candace closed her
eyes and struggled to catch her breath. “Why? Did you miss me?”
    “Always,” Jameson
answered, placing a kiss behind Candace’s ear. Candace sighed.
    “Everyone is gone?”
    Jameson’s arms pulled
Candace closer and traveled slowly from her waist to her abdomen. “Just you and
me,” she whispered while continuing to place light kisses on Candace’s neck.
      Candace sighed as Jameson’s hands continued
their gentle journey upward. “Jameson,” she moaned. Jameson smiled as Candace
leaned into her. She cupped Candace’s breasts through her dress. Candace’s
breath was becoming shallower as Jameson’s fingers played over her cleavage.
    Jameson heard her
name through another ragged sigh and turned Candace in her arms. Candace looked
at the architect and cupped Jameson’s face in her hands. Jameson smiled. “I
love you,” Jameson promised before kissing Candace passionately.
    “Oh God, Jameson,”
Candace said as Jameson broke their kiss. “I love you.”
    “Senator,” a voice
startled Candace. “You feeling okay?” Susan asked.
    “Huh? Yeah, I guess I
drifted off.”
    “You look a little
flushed,” Susan observed.
    “I’m fine. When did
you get here?”
    “Just now. George let
me in.” Candace nodded. ”Are you sure you are feeling okay?’
    “I’m fine,” Candace
reassured her assistant. “But, I’d better get myself together before the
caterers get here and the masses arrive.”
    Susan smiled. “I’ll
see you downstairs. Anything you need me to handle?”
    “Just the usual,”
Candace said. Susan nodded and left the room. Candace took a deep breath and
made her way into the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and shook her head.
“Oh, Jameson,” she mumbled. “What have I gotten myself into?”

Chapter Eight: I Just
Needed You To Know
    Candace
made her way through the house taking a moment to greet each guest and engage
in the required pleasantries. Her mind was a million miles away from every
conversation she found herself drawn into .
If anyone had bothered to ask her what she had been discussing just a moment
before, she would have been stumped to give a recounting. The house was full,
her glass had run dry, and she had yet to catch a glimpse of Jameson. She
offered the congressman that she had been chatting with her best smile when a
face in the distance captured her attention.
    Jameson
stopped a few yards away from where Candace was standing. She stopped so
abruptly that Dana failed to realize she was walking alone. She turned to her left to say something to the architect.
Realizing she was alone she glanced behind her to see Jameson smiling stupidly
at something in the distance. She followed