The Longer The Fall, Aviva Gat [top 10 books to read txt] 📗

didn’t look like Brandon. He did in some ways, but not in others. There was something different about him. She let the man kiss her passionately and push her back onto the bed where they gripped each other’s clothes. She felt herself wanting this man more and more, this man who was Brandon, but also wasn’t. When her desire couldn’t be stronger, she pushed the man over onto his back and slipped on top of him. Relief fled through her with every thrust as she and the man devoured each other grasping at each other’s skin, pulling each other close. When they finished, Madeline snuggled into the man’s arms and felt calm. She hadn’t cheated, this man was Brandon on some level, even though the sex didn’t feel like it was with Brandon.

Madeline was jolted awake suddenly as the plane hit the ground. She followed Jane off the plane to the tarmac where a car was waiting to take them to the Capitol. Madeline was silent, even as Jane spoke about their plans for the trip. She would be needed on the senate floor, there would be a vote on a budget earmark that had already passed in the House of Representatives. Lunch was planned with the Liberty Caucus, a group of other moderate republican senators, and she would be greeting a school group that was visiting Washington from California.

Madeline was shaken from her dream. Over the last years, she hadn’t considered herself much of a sexual person. Of course she had sex, enjoyed it, even wanted it sometimes, but the desire she had in her dream was a desire she hadn’t felt in a long time. Not since… well, not since mothering two children while trying to pursue her own ambitions in her career. But that was normal, right?

“Yoo-hoo, are you there, Madeline?” Jane said. Their car was stopped in front of the Capitol and Jane was standing on the sidewalk waiting for Madeline to get out. “We’ve got to go, they’re already giving speeches on the senate floor. You promised Senator Copper you would be there.”

Madeline shook herself out of her mind and jumped out of the car. Focus, she told herself. You need to stay focused.

Chapter 6

After a few long days in Washington, Madeline returned home to California. She came back late that Friday night, after the kids had already gone to sleep. But Brandon hadn’t. When Madeline walked in the door he was sitting with his laptop on the couch, feet up, his reading glasses halfway down his nose and one hand cupping his chin. Madeline loved seeing Brandon with his reading glasses in this thinking pose. It made him look sophisticated, like if he thought hard enough he could solve every problem, from how to fix a broken hair dryer to ensuring peace in the Middle East. He didn’t look up when Madeline walked in the living room. Instead he dropped the hand from his chin and started typing away on the keyboard. Madeline watched him for a moment, before approaching the couch and gently moving his legs so she could sit down next to him.

“One sec,” Brandon said without looking up. His fingers continued to type at a speed that surely could have been record breaking. “There,” he concluded pressing hard on the last key before looking up at Madeline. “Just going through the quarterly reports.”

A few months ago, Brandon’s company CyTech had gone public. It was a huge step for the company and was considered a huge success. Within hours the stock price had doubled and since then it had been steadily rising. Being the CEO of a public company, however, was much more work than running a private company. If Brandon hadn’t been busy enough before the IPO, he now had to deal with investors, boards and constant reporting to the SEC. “Anything interesting?” Madeline asked, peeking over to the screen.

“Brick wall,” Brandon joked as he closed his laptop. He was right, they were obligated to keep certain parts of their professional lives separate so as to avoid allegations of insider trading and other influences that could be less than ethical. “How was DC? Missed you.” Brandon turned his body so that he was sitting next to Madeline and kissed her on the lips. Madeline’s mind wandered back to the dream she had on the flight a few days before. She kissed her husband back, turning the kiss that would have been a short peck into a longer embrace. She caught his bottom lip and slipped her tongue into his mouth. Brandon immediately reacted and shifted his body further so that he could wrap his arms around Madeline’s upper back. He mirrored her movements with his lips and he let out a little moan. “Madeline,” he said. “I really missed you.”

Madeline began to kiss her husband harder and she slipped her hands under the ratty t-shirt he was wearing. Brandon moved his hands down by her waist and started touching her all over. He pushed into her, closing the small gap that was still between their bodies. As they kissed, Madeline waited for the desire she had felt in her dream to come. She wanted to feel young again, excited, full of the anticipation between young lovers.

“Let’s go to the bedroom,” Brandon offered, slowly standing up as they continued to kiss. They walked up their stairs together, Brandon behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist, still kissing her around her neck. When they got to the bedroom, he quietly closed the door, careful not to wake the boys, and pulled his shirt over his head. Madeline looked at his body. It hadn’t changed much in the 13 years they had been together. He wasn’t athletic, or fit, but his body was tight and hadn’t gained the pudge that many of their peers had started to carry around. “Take off your clothes.”

Madeline was still wearing the