Blind Faith by Rebecca Zanetti Page A

forgotten about
    his enhanced senses? Or did she not care if he eavesdropped on her conversation?
    “How’s the meeting going?” Ernie Rastus asked.
    “Okay. This McGovern fellow isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed,” Audrey said dryly.
    Laughter rippled through Nate, and he coughed into his hand to disguise it from the members in the
    conference room. The brat remembered his enhanced hearing just fine.
    “In fact, he spent more time flirting with the senator than dealing with numbers.” Pure glee filled
    Audrey’s voice in the hallway.
    Ernie snorted. “With the senator?”
    “Yes. At one point, when the senator complimented him, McGovern actually purred.” Audrey chuckled,
    and even through the closed doorway, the sound sprang Nate’s cock to life. He’d show her purring .
    “So much for you charming him,” Ernie said, a smile in his voice.
    “Oh, I don’t know”—Audrey’s voice lowered—“I bet I could still have McGovern eating out of my
    hand. He seems rather… simple.”
    Nate bit his lip to keep from smiling, considering the senator and Lilith had started arguing about state
    taxes. He’d love to eat out of Audrey’s hand. Or navel.
    Ernie cleared his throat. “So long as we get the money, I don’t care what a moron TechnoZyn’s lobbyist
    is.”
    Did that jackass call him a moron? Nate crossed his arms.
    “Right, Nate?” Lilith asked, forcing Nate’s attention back to the conference room.
    “Absolutely,” he answered automatically, his main focus still on the conversation outside the room.
    Lilith nodded and launched into another argument.
    Outside, Ernie sighed. “I had a decent meeting with Darian Hannah. He said Red Force is willing to fight
    hard for the Senate military funding.”
    Audrey breathed out. “Isn’t everybody?”
    “Good point,” Ernie said.
    Who was Red Force? Nate pretended interest in Lilith’s tirade and tilted his head to better hear the
    outside conversation. His gut rebelled. Audrey really was in place to obtain funding for the commander
    from the U.S. government through the senator’s subcommittee. Nate had always feared that her pathological
    need to find some sort of connection with her mother would lead her into trouble.
    Even so, the thought that the gentle woman he’d once fallen for would align herself with such a monster
    tilted Nate’s world. His head pounded, and a stone dropped into his gut. How could he have been so wrong
    about her?
    The sound of somebody patting somebody’s arm reached Nate’s ears.
    “So, I guess maybe I’ll go flirt with McGovern to help out?” Ernie asked with a chuckle.
    Audrey laughed. “I think you’re too nice for him. Seems like a guy who likes to take it rough.”
    Oh, she did not just say that. Nate pretended to purse his lips in thought to keep from smiling again.
    Ernie snorted. “One of those guys who likes the feel of a whip, like that group who demonstrated
    outside last year? Remember? They had whips, leather, and some odd contraptions I’d never seen before,
    and they chanted something about freedom of expression.”
    “Definitely. That McGovern is a bottom , without question. Probably has a monstrous dom named
    Bubba who spanks him nightly.” Audrey coughed delicately.
    That was it. He’d never been able to refuse a gauntlet once it had been thrown down. Nate stood slowly.
    “If you’ll excuse me for a moment, Senator. Where’s the restroom?”
    “Go left when you leave the room, and you won’t miss it,” the senator said, his gaze remaining on
    Lilith. “As I was saying, when you pay property taxes, you fund schools, roads, and land development.”
    “But, Senator—” Lilith started.
    Nate opened the door, gratified when Audrey’s eyes widened. He held out a hand to Ernie and shut the
    door behind him. “Jason McGovern.”
    “Ernie Rastus.” The man’s fingers were long, tapered, and calloused. His dossier noted he liked to build
    rocking chairs as a hobby.
    Nate made sure to