The Gentlewoman Read Online Free

birthday. Council came later when I was thirty-one and I served
there until being appointed here. Unfortunately for my constituents, they’ve
had to deal with a lot from my predecessor. What about you?”
    She was ready to get the conversation off herself. It had
taken Landon weeks to talk her into accepting the appointment after the former
congressman from her district was arrested with hookers and enough alcohol and
drugs in his system to embalm him. Landon had pushed the party and governor to
replace him with somebody who cared about the region and the people, and who
was electable. That person had been Rory, even when she didn’t know if she had
her heart completely in it after all that had happened to her. Landon and the
party pushed and they were right. All it took to get her into the game was for
the first reporter to cut into her with, “Why should we give her the job when
she didn’t even know her husband was a criminal?” Her teeth bared. Nobody cared more for northern Ohio than she did, and if they wanted the right
representation, they’d go with Rory Morgan.
    Dorn began to talk about his journey. “Well, as you pointed
out today, after my wealthy upbringing, I decided I needed to step out of the
Dorn mold of businessmen politicians so I went to the academy after completing
Princeton. I spent fifteen years chasing bad guys and made a good name for
myself at home in Maine. I finally felt the need to run for Congress five years
ago. I’ve been here fighting for Maine ever since.”
    Rory had tensed. “What academy, FBI?”
    “Yes, I was an agent.”
    “Oh, but not for five years?” How much did he know?
    “Not for five years. Would you like a beer? I’m having
another.” She smiled and nodded. He might not know all her secrets.
    She followed him to the sofa and he held his hand out for
her to sit. To her surprise, he sat down close and turned to face her, intently
studying her face. She felt self-conscious in her running gear.
    “So you run a lot? What else do you like to do?” He measured
her with those baby-blues.
    “I do run a lot. It keeps me in shape. I also do some
kayaking at home. That’s all I do, except work.” Not very impressive, she
admonished herself.
    “Kayak? Where do you kayak?”
    “Well, I’ve kayaked on both the Atlantic and Pacific. But
mostly when I’m home, I walk out my back door and drag a rig into Lake Erie and
take off.” She said this with a great smile and flourish.
    “Ohio. I’ve never been. It’s never sounded like somewhere
people want to go.” He was grinning and obviously looking to get a rise out of
her.
    “Oh, well, you should visit because you are really missing
out. I live in Bay Village, right outside Cleveland. Schools are top ten in the
nation, cost of living is incredibly low, and the beer and rock ’n’ roll are
always flowing. Not like Portland, Maine. I was there several years back and
couldn’t find anything to do after dark. The whole town seemed to go to bed.”
Actually she’d loved Portland. It was really beautiful.
    She couldn’t seem to stop herself from flirting. It was so
hot the way he was gazing at her. He had the reputation of a gigolo anyway.
    She wondered what it would be like to sleep with Jackson
Dorn. He was rumored to have had plenty of lovers. She’d only had one lover
since her husband. It had been to try to get past her marriage, if she was
being honest with herself. Shane Sutton, the FBI agent assigned to cover her in
case her in-laws struck back after she killed Aidan. She had known Shane was
interested. He was like a puppy dog following her around. She had decided to
try with him, to see if she could return to some semblance of normalcy. When
she had slept with him, she had her answer. She could still fuck, but the rest
of her was completely numb. The pangs of loneliness soon intensified. Sex had
to be enough because happily ever after didn’t exist. It was okay with Shane
for a while, until he wanted to couple