Chapter 1
Later that night, I yawned and reclined back on the white leather sectional in the living room. President McGallen and Margaret had bought a new house here in Los Angeles. Wait, scratch that. The word "house" is a major understatement. They bought a freaking beach side mansion! God, I love being the guard of this family...sometimes. Ariana sighed, flipping through Netflix and trying to find a good movie to watch. The concert was such a tiring job. So many people! There weren't even that many when President McGallen was on the campaign trail! So many screaming fans. So many crazed paparazzi and press. So much noise. I must have lost at least half my hearing today. Note to self: bring earplugs next time. Big ones. Or just have Simon make some really cool techie pair. Either way, I need to bring something next concert.
"Oh! What about this!" Ariana exclaimed, sitting up and pressing a button on the remote.
I glanced over at the screen to see the movie. Springbreakers. Really? I groaned, throwing a pillow at her. She deflected it with her hand.
"You know how much I hate that movie." I grumbled.
"Jeez, what crawled up your butt and died?" Ariana scoffed, flipping through the movies again.
"Your concert. So many deranged lunatics. I mean, come on, did you see that guy in the front row? With the neon green Mohawk? He threw his freaking boxers on stage!"
Ariana laughed, nodding. That guy had been...well, saying insane would be putting it mildly. More like...psychopathic? I was a minute away from asking him to leave when he started screaming at the top of his lungs, "Ariana! Fuck me! Please! Take a go! I want to father your children!" Fortunately, one of the security guards beat me to it. I was too tired to go ask him myself anyway.
"Yeah, I know. What was he screaming anyway? I couldn't hear him over everything going on but I saw him take out three iPhones and a beer bottle."
I laughed.
"He wanted you to fuck him and carry his children." I answered.
Ariana's eyes went wide as she burst out into fits of laughter. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt and tears welled up in my eyes. Had this been a year ago, we'd be just about ready to murder each other in our sleep. President McGallen decided to walk into the living room at that moment. He took one look at us and raised an eyebrow, his bright blue eyes filled with amusement.
"Oh, God, what're you girls up to now?" he asked as he strolled casually by, grabbing a Los Angeles Times newspaper from the glass topped coffee table.
"Stuff." I answered when I stopped laughing my ass off.
He gave me a mock glare and walked back into the dining room, which was connected to the completely chrome kitchen complete with marble floors and granite counter-tops. Ariana stopped laughing, shaking her head, and finally decided on a movie. I read the title before it started playing. Magic Mike. Are you effing kidding me? Well, at least Channing Tatum's hot. Just because I'm dating the most gorgeous guy on the planet, Joshua Maddox-McGallen (although he prefers to drop the Maddox) doesn't mean I don't enjoy eye-candy. What? I'm a girl who likes cute guys. Good thing Joshua went to be early. If he saw me watching this, I wouldn't hear the end of it. I love Joshua, I really do, but sometimes he doesn't know when to shut up.
When the movie finally ended (it's official, Joshua is hotter than Channing Tatum), I went upstairs to my room. During the last ten minutes of the movie, Ariana fell asleep on the couch. I finished watching it, but my eyelids dropped every five seconds. President McGallen and Margaret took over the TV when I sauntered upstairs, flipping through Netflix themselves for a movie after President McGallen carried Ariana upstairs to her room (don't ask me how he managed to carry a seventeen year old girl up the spiral staircase.) I opened the door to my room and flipped the light switch.
When we first arrived, I took the guest room. Aside from a few personal possessions of mine, the room was decorated by one of the best interior decorators in the country, Addison Montgomery. She was asked personally by President McGallen and Margaret to decorate the new mansion. The best part about having the guest suite is that I get my own private bathroom (even though there are about seven in total around the house) and a full view of the Los Angeles cityscape. One side of my room is completely glass, overlooking the city of Los Angeles and the Hollywood sign. I sighed, walking over to my window wall and drinking in the beautiful Los Angeles night lights. Suddenly, I heard a rustling behind me. Whipping around, I saw Joshua lying in my bed, a mischievous little smirk on his gorgeous face. I smiled back, closing the white curtains to the beautiful view.
"I thought you'd never come to bed." Joshua said, opening his arms for me.
I walked over to my bed, lying down next to him and allowing him to envelope me in his strong arms. I nuzzled his neck affectionately, kissing the little hollow under his jaw. His hand somehow found it's way under my shirt and was stroking my lower back lightly. I sighed, content. His touch sent excited chills through me. I love this boy.
"Ariana wanted to watch a movie. I didn't want to go to bed." I answered nonchalantly.
Joshua grunted in response, kissing the top of my head. We laid there in silence for a long time, holding onto each other. Under my ear, I heard Joshua's steady heartbeat. His chest rose and fell with every breath he took. I inhaled his familiar scent. Cologne and something completely Joshua.
"What'd you girls watch?" he asked.
I froze, frantically searching my mental library of movies for something. Oh, what the hell.
"Magic Mike." I answered.
His chest shuddered when he laughed, rolling on top of me. I gave him a mock glare as he pinned me onto my bed.
"I'm not going to hear the end of this, am I?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Joshua nodded. Shit.
"Not for a long time, sweetheart." Joshua said, pressing his smirk against mine.
I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his neck and hooking my ankles at his waist. He groaned, kissing me harder as my right hand ran down his chest to rest at the knot of his cotton pajama pants. I started to tug, but he made a sound against my mouth and brought my hand back up to his neck. He pulled away, gazing down into my eyes.
"Now, now, don't be hasty. We have all night." he whispered in a seductive voice, leaning down to kiss me again.
I chuckled, grasping the back of his head as he kissed me intensely. His tongue slipped into my mouth, tasting me. I made a sound at the back of my throat. Suddenly, the door opened. Joshua rolled off of me, staring at the door. My face heated in an embarrassed blush. President McGallen stood in the doorway, raising an eyebrow. He cleared his throat, looking around before meeting Joshua's gaze. Well this is awkward.
"Joshua, what'd I tell you?" he said in a firm tone.
Joshua sighed, tightening the arm he kept wrapped around me.
"I remember, I remember. We weren't doing that." he waved his hand aimlessly.
I kept watching my feet, embarrassed beyond belief. The President of the United States just walked in on his son and I making out. Great. Just freaking great.
"Really? Because that's where it looked like it was going." President McGallen placed his hands on his hips, tapping his foot on the plush carpet like an annoyed parent with a whiny child.
Joshua paled and looked down at his feet, mimicking me. I opened my mouth to speak, bringing my eyes to President McGallen, but he held up a hand to silence me. I shut my mouth obediently. He sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"Ember, Joshua, I'm aware that you two have already had sex in the past. But, please, if you're going to do it at least use protection. You two are far too responsible to forget something as important as that. I'm sure we don't need to get into what the consequences would be otherwise."
I nodded, biting my lower lip. Possible disease. Pregnancy. And, in addition to getting pregnant, I'd lose my job with the CIA. Getting pregnant at eighteen would land me on the unemployment line for sure. President McGallen cleared his throat.
"Good night, Ember. Come along, Joshua, there's something else I need to talk to you about regarding your mother."
Joshua went rigid. His face paled so white it matched my sheet. I took one of his hands in mine. He still didn't move or even blink. He looked at his father with a blank expression. I gave his hand a hard squeeze. That brought him back. He shook his head like an Etch-A-Sketch board, as if to clear it out.
"What is it, Dad? I want Ember here." he said, answering President McGallen's unspoken question.
President McGallen bit his lip, debating no doubt the best way to answer. Finally, he spoke.
"Your mother Rebecca was found dead. In Nevada. She had a bullet to the head."