Elijah Scott entered the bus, and Meredith held her breath as their eyes met. He was wearing a white polo and dark grey slacks, and looked as handsome as ever.
“Eli's going to ride on this bus with you guys for the first leg of the trip. Now's your chance to make a good impression,” she said, looking at all of them in turn, eyes lingering on Meredith for maybe just a split second longer. Or maybe Meredith had just imagined that.
Meredith couldn't stop staring at him despite herself. He was just too hot for his own good.
Damn. Why does he have to be so gorgeous?
A disturbing thought suddenly occurred to her. She belatedly realized Sosie had made eye contact with her much more than any of the other campaign staffers or journalists as she'd been giving out instructions. It had been weird.
Oh my God! Did he tell Sosie about me and that night?
“That's it. Good luck, everyone. See you at the hotel,” Sosie said, then got off the bus.
Meredith wasn't sure what to do. She could practically feel Elijah staring at her from across the bus as he took a seat near the front. Her cheeks grew hot when she realized she wanted him to stare at her, wanted his attention.
As the bus departed, Elijah smiled and began answering questions from the other journalists present. Meredith opened her laptop and started taking notes, hoping to distract herself with work. But her mind kept wandering.
It was stupid.
Biting her bottom lip, she remembered how good it had felt to have his strong arms wrapped around her. She remembered how hard his cock had been as she'd danced on his lap.
She wondered how long and thick he was. Thanks to him, she couldn't stop having thoughts like this.
Snickering from the back of the bus brought her back to reality. “Miss Fields?” she heard Eli say. Judging by the response, he'd been trying to get her attention for some time now.
“Sorry, what?” she asked, perplexed.
Elijah tilted his head, and she felt her stomach twisting into knots as everyone turned to look at her.
“I said, do you have a question for me, Miss Fields? Other than the one you just asked, of course,” he said with a grin, eliciting loud laughter from the other journalists.
Flustered, she racked her brain to come up with something.
“What kind of outfits do you prefer for summer? More casual, or more formal?” she blurted without thinking.
Meredith froze when she realized what she'd just asked. She'd had a chance to ask him anything, and that question had been pure fluff. So much for being a real journalist.
She felt even more pathetic when Elijah actually humored her with a legitimate answer.
“I don't have specific clothing preferences. I wear whatever a particular situation calls for,” he said, already moving on to take the next question.
Feeling thoroughly and utterly humiliated, she directed her attention back to her laptop, pretending to take notes when in reality she was berating herself.
Gritting her teeth, she cursed Elijah under her breath.
Chapter Seven
Elijah drummed his fingers against his thigh as he looked out the window of the limo. There was still so much that needed to be done today, but he was feeling exceptionally lazy, which was rare for him.
He had to make some revisions on the speech he'd be giving at the next campaign rally, and he needed to have his suits dry cleaned. Maybe if he hit the gym he wouldn't feel quite so lethargic. Working out sounded way more appealing than being cooped up working in his hotel suite.
When the limo came to a stop in front of the hotel where he and his campaign team were staying, he got down immediately.
“I'd like to be alone,” he instructed his security team, who immediately complied. Of course they weren't actually leaving him by himself, but they could give him the illusion of privacy.
Upon reaching his suite, Elijah
changed into his gym clothes. Maybe working out would take his mind off of Meredith, at least for a little while. He hoped, anyway. He wanted to groan at what he saw when he entered the gym.
Meredith was on an elliptical, chatting away with another journalist named Ava next to her. They were pleasantly chatting away. It sounded like Meredith was telling a story about someone named Lily.
Eli found himself amused as he listened to her story, but she stopped talking abruptly when she saw him.
He smiled, feeling slightly embarrassed after being caught eavesdropping.
“Don't mind me,” he said with a smile, pointing at a treadmill before putting in his headphones. He hoped they'd continue on like he wasn't even there.
But they went silent.
Ava was first to leave, shooting him a look on her way out.
Was that supposed to be seductive? he thought.
Without saying anything, Meredith moved to a treadmill and began jogging. She looked like she was taking her workout seriously, but he couldn't stop admiring her body in her gym clothes.
Feeling like now was as good a time as any to broach the subject about that night at the party since they were the only two people in the gym, Eli slowed his pace. He had to make sure she wouldn't write a tell-all on him.
“So, have you forgotten about the masquerade?” he asked, breaking the silence.
Meredith paused in surprise, completely forgetting she was on a treadmill. She tripped and went down hard, yelling out in shock and pain.
Instantly, he stopped his treadmill to check on her. He carefully scooped her up and laid her on a flat weight bench.
Eli started to feel his pulse racing when their eyes locked. The more he looked at her, the more he found her beautiful.
Nobody had ever made him feel like this before.
Yes, she was hot as fuck, but there was something special about her, something more to this than just his lust...
Something he couldn't explain every time their eyes met.
I must be out of my mind, he thought, looking away when she slipped from his grasp.
“What?” she asked awkwardly. “Do I have something on my face?”
He knew she wasn't immune to his presence either. It was crystal clear she was attracted to him just as much as he was to her.
“I was wondering why you haven’t mentioned that night again,” he answered, moving on as if nothing had happened. He was starting to think his acting skills had gotten better.
“I— I— I haven’t forgotten,” she answered stammering, looking away to conceal the redness of her cheeks.
Eli couldn't suppress the smile that formed on his lips as he watched her. One moment she was a seductress, and the next thing he knew, she was a cute teenager. How could she possibly flit between the two without making him think she was pretending?
“No? Are you sure?”
“I just… you know, the story doesn’t paint me in a flattering light either,” she murmured shyly, turning to check out her left ankle.
He felt his cock twitch when he saw her twist at the waist, exposing her cleavage. It wasn't like it was his first time seeing a sexy woman or her breasts. But he felt like a horny teenager all over again, always turned on and unable to control it.
Damn her for being so fucking hot.
And damn him for lusting over someone he couldn’t have.
“I guess? But only if you were honest about it. I don't know you, Meredith. How do I know you won't tell the story in a way where you come off completely innocent, and I look like some pervert?” he asked. He hated phrasing things this way, but he needed to see what kind of journalist she was.