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“Now who’s condoning violence?” he asked, as the corner of his mouth slanted upward. “Come on Darci, I’m sorry. I can’t stop doing my job. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll probably have an Inbox full of hate mail by tomorrow morning.”
He trailed a finger down her cheek, but she jerked away.
“We still have another segment to do. And no, I will not have dinner with you.” She stormed out of the green room, slamming the door after her.
• • •
Darci calmed down enough to make it through the next segment without incident. She couldn’t believe he’d had the nerve to say he wanted to kiss her after the awful things he had to say on the air. When the show was over, she slipped out of the building and into a cab without him catching up with her.
Her phone lit up as she rode home. It was Bradley apologizing again. She ignored it and cursed herself for finding him attractive. It was infuriating to know that he lived the same lifestyle as she did but could still stick up for the likes of Sean Atleigh. She resisted the urge to delete his number from her phone and forget he ever existed. Jim was excited about having Atleigh on his panel and that she was going to get face time out of the deal, and Bradley was her ticket for that. Tomorrow she would send him tickets for the benefit via messenger, and she would conduct any further business with him through e-mail or their respective assistants.
When she got home, she stripped off her work clothes and slipped into comfortable pajamas. As she laid in bed, Bradley’s scent as he towered over her in the green room came rushing back to her. The feel of his lips brushing against her cheek made her groan. And the memories of him in her bed just two nights ago flooded her senses. The way he smelled, the way his fingertips grazed her nipples and clit. The way he purposely avoided pinning her down but still made her feel trapped under his gaze.
Reaching into her nightstand, she pulled out a slim silver vibrator. Maybe she couldn’t date him, but there was nothing wrong with letting memories of him fuel a fantasy or two. She slipped her hand between her legs and was surprised at her own wetness. It usually took some time to get herself going.
She turned the small dial on the vibrator and pressed it against herself. As the vibrations coursed through her, she let herself melt into the pillows. The memory of Bradley’s masculine scent was back, and she pressed the vibe harder onto her clit.
A moan escaped her lips as the pressure built. This might be the fastest she had ever reached climax. Her free hand drifted over her breasts, and she found her nipples hard and sensitive. In her mind, she was staring into dark blue eyes, and her moans grew louder as the orgasm washed over her.
Holy shit, she would have to masturbate to thoughts of Bradley more often. Darci drifted off to sleep, with the tension gone from her shoulders and a smile playing on her lips.
11
“DAMN it, Darci. What part of don’t start a fight on national television did you not understand?”
Jim stood in front of her desk the next morning looking very unhappy.
Still, she grinned at him. “Technically, I’m not the one who started it. Bradley Givens is the one who hit below the belt, and you know it.”
He sighed. “It still doesn’t look good for us to have you blasting people like that.”
“Can I get back to work now? It's a busy day, Jim. I need to return a bunch of phone calls, and I need to check in with some protest organizers. Not to mention I’ve got three more senate offices to call and yell at today,” she said with a smirk.
He chuckled. “Always looking for a fight, aren’t you, girl?”
“You know me, Jim. There's always a battle to be fought somewhere.”
“Well, I'm here if you need me. Don’t get in over your head. These D.C. people are animals.”
“Hey, watch it. I was raised here,” she said with a huff, feigning offense.
“Yeah, and you're one tough animal.” He winked as he left for his own office, and Darci chuckled as she watched him disappear.
A moment later, her assistant Kimberly poked her head in.
“You realize you’re Internet famous, right? Your blog is probably about to blow up.” Darci looked puzzled.
“What do you mean?”
“Go look at YouTube. Or Facebook. Your little spar with Givens is all over the place. You’ve gone viral.” The assistant bounced up and down as if this were the best thing in the world.
Darci groaned as she opened her browser. Not exactly what she was hoping for, but there was a chance this would slow down Atleigh's momentum on the legislation he had before congress. “Looks like we should expect a lot of calls today. I’ll send you a basic script to follow and a list of people I’m probably willing to talk to and the ones I definitely don’t want to speak to. If anyone gets too pushy, then I’m not here. I’ll call anyone back that I think deserves it.”
Darci dug into her to-do list for the day and tried to ignore the phone that was constantly ringing in reception. At lunchtime, she rescued her poor assistant by sending her to get them both food on her dime. A little while after she returned, Kimberly spoke over the intercom.
“Hey boss, I’ve got Bradley Givens on the line. Thought you might want to take this one.”
Darci sighed. She didn’t want to. Not after their heated exchange last night. But she knew she had to, so she accepted the call.
