Protecting Freedom Read online

  “Honor,” he says, and there’s relief in his voice that makes my chest tight.

  I know he was worried that something could have happened to her, because I felt the same way. He looks over the top of her head and directly at me. He narrows his eyes, but July walks around him and comes over to where I am on the couch. I stand up and she holds out her hands, taking one of mine in both of hers.

  “Thank you so much for protecting her. For keeping her safe when we couldn’t.” There are tears in her eyes as she turns and pulls Honor into her own hug.

  The president walks over to me and I brace myself for his anger, but instead he holds out his hand. I reach for his and he gives me a firm shake before he lets out a sigh.

  “Thank you,” he says simply, and I nod at him.

  He steps back, and Honor comes over to my side and I put my arm around her.

  “I did my duty to protect the daughter of the president, but I also did what I felt I had to because I love Honor.” She runs her hand down my back and it gives me the confidence to keep going. “I’ve loved her for a long time, but I didn’t touch her until she was eighteen. I waited because she means something to me.” I glance down at her and she looks up to meet my gaze. “She means everything to me. She’s my world.”

  I hear sniffing and I look over to see July in tears.

  “Don’t mind me. I’m just super hormonal because of the baby,” she says as the president turns and wipes away her tears. “You can’t be mad at them. They’re in love. It’s not their fault some asshole took pictures of them.”

  “I know,” the president signs. “It’s just difficult to see pictures of my little girl like that.”

  “How bad were they?” Honor asks, and I wish she hadn't. I don’t even want to know.

  “You were both covered,” July rushes to say, then leans in closer to Honor and whispers. “It was pretty obvious what was happening, but there’s no way to prove it.”

  Honor’s face turns about seventeen shades of red and I pull her closer to me. I hate that the world has seen those pictures, but it does mean that everyone knows she’s mine. So in a twisted way there’s some silver lining to this.

  “What are your intentions with my little girl?” the president says, and Honor steps in front of me.

  “I love you, Dad, but it’s time I made the decisions when it comes to my life.” My chest swells with pride as she takes my hand and lays down the law. “I’m going to hold off on college for at least a year. I want to weigh my options back in Tennessee. With Washington.”

  The sudden image of her and me together on a farm riding horses and raising our kids begins to take root. I want it so badly I wish I could scoop her up in my arms and go run off and start it now.

  July puts a hand on the president’s arm and nods. “I like the sound of that. We’re all out of here in six months, and I think I’d like nothing more than to raise your brother or sister with you nearby. We’ve got a lot of time to let this grow and plan the future.”

  She looks up to the president, who presses his lips together but finally nods. “I know what you’ve done for me and what you’ve done for your country. You’re a good man, Washington, and I’m proud that my daughter chose someone like you.”

  Having them accept our relationship makes this whole thing a lot easier. Now instead of my escape plan I’m thinking of land I can buy and how many acres we’ll need.

  “Now I’d like to speak with the man who threatened my daughter,” the president says, and I nod as I follow behind him.

  Honor and July stay in the office and security comes in to watch them in case they need anything. I follow the president down the hall and to the room where they’re holding Chad.

  It didn’t take long for him to sing like a bird. He easily gave up the names of the reporters putting pressure on him to get the pictures. It turned out he didn’t have a weapon and he only wanted to take pictures, but threatening the daughter of the president and the woman I love is enough to send his ass to federal prison until he’s an old man.

  By the time everything is over the sun is up and a wave of exhaustion hits me. I’ve been up for almost two days straight and I need some sleep.

  When we walk back into the room I can see the same tired look in Honor’s eyes when I pull her into my arms.

  “I think I could use something to eat,” July says as she walks by us and winks at Honor. She takes the president by the arm and leads him out of the room.

  “What about you, sweet pea? You hungry?” I ask, running my fingers down her cheek.

  “I just want to crawl in bed and snuggle next to you,” she says as she closes her eyes and leans into me.

  I scoop her up in my arms and carry her back to her wing. When I enter I see the door has already been repaired from the commotion earlier and I lock the bolt behind me. Her room has already been cleaned as well and there’s no sign of blood or any indication that there was ever a struggle in here.

  I place her on the bed then slowly strip her clothes off before I do the same and slide under the cool sheets with her. My cock is hard and demanding relief, but I force myself to ignore it as I pull her against me.

  Her soft curves mold against me, and her round ass is going to cause me another sleepless night. I grit my teeth to keep from reaching down and squeezing it in my hands. I close my eyes and force myself to relax, but she wiggles her ass against my hard cock and sleep is no longer an option.

  “You keep that up and I’m going to have to fuck you,” I say as I bite the shell of her ear.

  “I think I need it to help me sleep,” she says, raising her leg and draping it over mine, opening her pussy up for me.

  I thrust forward and the head of my cock slips through her wet lips. I growl against her neck. “Is that what you need?”

  “Yes,” she breathes, arching her back to push the head of my dick further into her.

  I grip her hip tightly and slowly enter her from behind. I give her shallow thrusts as I work my thick cock into her, not wanting to go too fast.

  “I’m not pulling out,” I say as I graze my teeth along her shoulder. “You’re mine now, Honor. Once the president's term is up, we’re on the next flight out of here and I’m going to have you all to myself.” Her sweet little pussy takes a little more and I move my hand to her clit and gently rub circles around it. “So until then, we’ll have to sneak in here during the day between your meetings so you can take care of me.”

  “Washington,” she whispers as her pussy clenches.

  “I’ll get so angry seeing all those men smile at you. I’ll be hard as a fucking rock wanting to show them you’re mine.” I slide my cock slowly out before gliding back into her sticky heat. “I’ll want you wet and ready for me when I come in here. Even if it’s only for me to bend you over and get off before we have to walk back out to the public. I want your pussy to have my fucking ownership stamped on it.” My jaw aches as I grind my teeth and she takes me all the way to my balls. “Fuck.”

  “Harder,” she moans, and I rub her clit faster as I plunge back inside her. She’s close to the edge already and I fucking love how easy she gets off.

  “You were made for me.” I roll over on top of her and thrust in and out harder. I grip her hip and hold her down into the mattress as I try to fuck through it.

  Her pussy clenches and she tries to close her legs as her orgasm hits her and she cries out. Her body tenses and I thrust one last time to fill her pussy as it greedily slurps up my cum.

  I wrap my arms around her and gently roll us back on our sides so she’s spooned against me and my cock is still buried deep inside her. There’s some relief, but it’s not enough. And I don’t know if it ever will be.

  “I love you so much, sweet pea,” I say, rubbing my hands all over her and kissing every inch of skin I can reach.

  “I love you, too, Washington. You’re my forever.”

  I close my eyes and I can’t think of a dream I’ve had that has ever compared to this mom
ent. She was worth the years of waiting, but I’m glad I can finally have her all to myself. Now all I have to do is protect her from the rest of the world.

  Epilogue

  Honor

  Six months later…

  I bounce on the edge of the seat of our SUV about to burst with excitement. “Sweet pea. Calm down.” I glance over at Washington, who is driving us home. He’s smiling at me. He’s let his facial hair grow a touch. I can still feel the reminder on my thighs right now. He’s looked so much more at ease since we left the White House.

  “We're going home,” I remind him. I’m smiling so big I know my face is going to hurt tomorrow, but I don’t care. We’re free. No more people watching us all the time. We can touch and kiss each other whenever we like.

  The fallout from the pictures wasn’t as catastrophic as I expected. You really couldn't see anything, only us kissing, which the press turned into some love story that made the world swoon over. I was happy it didn't get twisted with people saying hurtful things about Washington. But while everything was positive, now people were watching our every move. They wanted to know everything about our love story and well, it wasn't something that I cared to share with the world. I’ve shared a lot of my life already and this is mine and Washington’s.

  “I’ve been home for a while,” he says, and I know he means I’m his home. I lean over and kiss him on the neck. I trail kisses up to his ear.

  “You’re my home, too, but now we have a space where you can have me when and wherever you like without worrying about anyone catching us.” I drag my teeth along his earlobe. The hand he has on my thigh that’s been drawing lazy circles for the last hour tightens.

  “Sweet pea,” he growls. I lick my lips, thinking about how we’ll get to do the small things, too. Even make out in our car. It might not seem big to some, but to me it’s a whole new world.

  One thing I’ve come into over the past few months is my sexuality. I’m no longer shy at all when it comes to my body or sex. Washington makes me not only feel free with what I want, but sexy. How could I not feel sexy when I have a man like Washington always trying to get at me every free moment? The man is insatiable. We are making up for lost time, though.

  I have to fight a giggle when I think about all the times I’d barely get out of a meeting with someone and he’d be pulling me back towards my room to fuck me. Not that I’d call it fucking to his face. That makes him mad. We make love, he says, no matter how dirty it might be. It’s always making love. Who knew my fierce man could be so romantic.

  It didn't matter if my meeting had been with a woman or man. He got jealous over my time. If I gave it to one person for too long, he’d want to come in and make his claim.

  It would put him on edge and the only thing that could calm him down was me flat on my back with him inside me as I screamed his name. He said he got jealous of my time now because he waited so long to be able to have any of it at all. Now he wanted as much as he could get. God, I love him.

  Which was easier once my dad came to terms with everything. Washington stayed on my duty. We weren't allowed to say he lived with me, but everyone close to us pretty much knew he did. He was in my bed every night. One way or another. Oddly my dad was okay with all of this. It made me wonder if he might have known this was coming. My dad isn’t a stupid man.

  “We have a whole house to break in.” I kiss his neck again before dropping back into my seat.

  “Oh, I know.” He turns the wheel. Coming around a bend, I see a white fence running along the road. “And we’re here.”

  It’s hard making your dream home without ever stepping inside it or being there, but somehow we did it. More Washington than me. Working first with a real estate agent and then contractors. Oh, and let's not forget the security people he's worked with to make sure it’s a safe place for us to be as well.

  All I really did was pick the house and tell Washington what-all I wanted to be done. Well, it was more showing him pictures from magazines, but he did it. I kept track of progress via photos as the home came together, and today we finally get to live in it.

  He pulls up to a gate and hits something on his phone. The gate swings open and before long we’re meandering up the long driveway. The yellow house comes into view. My eyes start to water. This is it. Our dream.

  “It’s perfect,” I whisper. It’s a two-story home with a wraparound porch on each level. Rocking chairs sit on the front porch. It isn’t huge, but it’s not small either. It sits on enough land for us to be left alone, but not too far from my dad. Actually, our land touches his at the back.

  When the SUV stops I go to jump out, but Washington squeezes my thigh. “Wait for me to come around.”

  “I can't wait that long,” I plead, looking at him like he’s lost his mind. He only laughs. He throws open his door and pulls me out with him on his side, his hand resting on my stomach.

  “Sweet pea. Calm down. You’ll make yourself sick.” I want to roll my eyes at him, but I know he’s right. Our little one is starting to show and does have a habit of making me throw up.

  Washington swings me up into his arms. “Besides, I have to carry you over the threshold.” I wrap my arms around his neck.

  “We aren't married yet,” I remind him. He gives me a hard look. I press my lips together to fight a laugh. This is a sore spot for him. He’s been wanting to get married for months, but I wanted to get married here. In secret. Something small, really.

  “You have a month,” he tells me as he walks towards our home.

  “You’re giving me a whole month to plan it?” I’m a little surprised.

  “I love you, so I’ll give you a little time. I know you and July will want to do it right,” he sighs. He’s right. July and I would want the time but we’ve already used it. We ascend the steps to the porch.

  “Well, I can’t wait a month.” He opens the front door and I lean up to kiss him. “It’s already been planned. We get married in five days.”

  Washington’s face lights up, and he gives me one of the smiles that he always has lately. No more stone-cold looks. It’s all warmth for me.

  “Then I guess we better celebrate.” He walks into the house and kicks the door closed behind him. He goes straight up the stairs, taking them two at a time. My eyes stay focused on him. I forget about our new home and fall into him. He lays me down on our bed.

  “Welcome home, sweet pea,” he says sweetly against my mouth before he rips my clothes from my body.

  Home couldn't be more perfect.

  Epilogue

  Washington

  Five years later…

  “How are you not used to this by now?” I take my eyes off the two agents to glance over at Henry. It still feels odd to call him that sometimes after calling him Mr. President for so long.

  “They look at her,” I growl. One thing I sure don’t miss about the White House is having people watch you all the fucking time, but whenever Henry is around, so are his agents. For the most part. Today he was only picking Emma up, not staying so he hadn't made plans that would leave his agents a little bit away so now I was making sure they weren’t checking out my woman. No, my jealousy hasn’t lessened over the years.

  “That’s their job. To watch.” I hear the laughter in his voice but ignore it. I glance back out at the field where my wife and little girl are picking flowers. Our house is always filled with the flowers they pick. “I put you on her detail that day for a reason.”

  I look back over to Henry, not sure what he’s talking about. “I’d always planned to, just not so soon. But that day, something came up and, well, I figured we could get on with the show.”

  It takes me a minute and then it hits me. “Honor shows everything on her face. That first day she saw you I knew she was done for. I knew I was no longer the main man in her life.” He lets out a long sigh.

  Then he smiles. “I always wanted to make her happy, so I dug, made sure we spent more time with each other, and it didn't take me long to g
et on board with the idea of her and you.”

  I bark out a small laugh.

  “Who better to give her that all-American dream than a real hero, one I know would keep her and whatever grandbabies she gave me safe.” He leans forward in his chair. I’ve had a lot of moments of pride in my life after missions, but right now, this one is the best one I’ve ever had.

  “I knew you were a mean son of a bitch that first day I met you, but when your eyes landed on her they’d go soft.”

  My throat feels tight. “Thank you,” I tell him. After having my own little girl, I can see how hard it would be to give that trust to another man. He gave that to me. He gave me her. Not that Honor could really be given to me. We all know that woman owns every part of me. I’d follow her anywhere.

  “Emma. Come on. Grandma is making cookies,” Henry yells out to her.

  Emma squeals with delight. I watch as Honor leans down and kisses her before Emma takes off on a dead run for us. She throws herself at her grandpa, who catches her, her dark wavy hair like her mama’s bouncing all around her. “With chocolate chips?” she asks him.

  “Of course,” he tells her, making her squeal again like she never gets chocolate or something. I lean in and give my girl a kiss of my own.

  “Get your men out of my house,” I tell Henry, who only smiles as he turns to leave. I give his agents a death glare as they follow him out.

  “Fuckers,” I mutter, then turn to head out to my wife. My breath catches when I see her, her dress and hair blowing in the wind, the sun setting behind her. God, she looks perfect. She turns a little, showing off her very pregnant belly. After we had Emma we wanted to wait a little while to enjoy our first before we had another. Now our son is ready to come any time now.

  “You scare those agents off?” She shoots me a smile. I ignore her, walking right up to her and kissing her. Long and deep. Every time my mouth takes hers my body relaxes. When I pull back she’s breathing heavily, her cheeks rosy.