"So, where did you stay in South Carolina?"

"Marriott. Charleston."

"They've got that nice-looking pool."

"So ... goodnight."

"Yeah. See you."
~~~~~

Josh opened his door, hung the 'Do Not Disturb' sign from the door handle, and then retreated back into the cool darkness of his room. He had about five hours before his wake up call and he intended to use the time wisely by catching up on some much needed sleep. What he was /not/ going to do was obsess over Donnatella Moss, who was barely fifty feet away from him. Alone. In a bed. By herself.

But even after he'd stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers, he didn't climb into bed. Instead, he paced the small space between the dresser and the door, and ran through all the reasons he shouldn't go over there.

For starters, she'd made the no sex rule very clear. Not that it had stopped him – or her -- so far, but she'd been particularly adamant after that incident with the night manager at the Charleston Marriott. It might not be wise to press his luck again. Although maybe if his overture didn't involve a public space, she would be less likely to protest.

He shook his head. There was no way he'd be able to convince her that a private room made any difference. Donna was convinced the no sex rule had merit, regardless of where the sex did or did not take place.

Ok. So the stupid rule was stopping him. What else was keeping him here while she was over there?

There was the fact that both their campaign contingents were staying at this hotel. Anyone might see him going in or out of her room. A big-mouthed aide bucking for promotion. The press. The candidates. Some regular Joe Schmoe with an eye for political scandal. The list was endless. And while he was fairly certain he could enter her room without getting caught, there were no guarantees and was it really worth the risk?

Yes, dammit, it was! With steely determination, he grabbed his key card and strode across the hall to rap sharply on her door.

It took a second series of short knocks, but she finally cracked the door open to peer at him in sleepy confusion. "Josh? What are you --?"

He ignored her and pushed past her into the room, slamming the door behind him and pressing her back against it.

"Screw the rules," he growled, seconds before his mouth plundered hers. She squeaked in protest but was soon whimpering with need as his tongue tangled with hers and his hands skimmed her sides. Eventually, though, she pushed at him and he stepped away from her, his breathing harsh and labored.

"Josh, we discussed this. No sex while we're on the campaign trail. Especially not after the pool fiasco," she chastised him.

He started pacing in the small area by the door. "See, this is where I think you're wrong. The only reason the pool thing got as far as it did is because we haven't had sex in weeks!"

He stopped so he could gauge her reaction and was distracted by her nibbling nervously at her lip. He almost pulled her back into his arms right there and then. But he didn't, knowing that he'd made his intentions clear – it was time for Donna to own up to the fact that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. And only when that happened could they forget about her dumb rules and get back to the good stuff. The naked stuff. The stuff that made him want to be the one nibbling on her swollen lips…

He yanked his glance away from her mouth, desperate not to let her lip nibbling distract him. Which was when he finally noticed her outfit -- a ratty sweater half-covered one of his old t-shirts, faded flannel boxers showed off her incredible legs and scrunched down gym socks covered her feet. He'd never seen anything so sexy in his life.

"Josh. Earth to Josh." She was snapping her fingers in front of his face, and it took him a few moments to focus on what she was saying.

"We agreed that the rules were a good idea," she repeated.

"You agreed," he corrected as he pressed closer to her and bent his head to suck at the tender flesh of her neck. Screw waiting.

He was rewarded for his efforts by a frustrated whimper. "/We/ agreed that it wouldn't look good for the two of us to be seen together. That it would make things look bad for both of our campaigns."

"I've decided I don't care," he muttered, pushing her sweater from her shoulders and then tugging at her t-shirt. "I haven't been with you in days, Donna."

"We've gone longer," she pointed out. But her voice was faint and raspy and he pushed his advantage, his lips meeting hers in a deep, passionate kiss.

"Maybe, but not when we were both in the same state. The same hotel, even," he mumbled against her mouth. She made a noise of protest, but he knew he had won when she helped him push down her boxers to reveal the silky flowered underwear she had on underneath. "Besides, since I'm already here, and no one saw me…"

She chuckled and nipped at his lip.

"See, you completely agree with me," he said with a smirk as he walked her backwards towards the bed.

"I don't completely agree with you," she protested, smiling. "But you make a compelling argument and I'm willing to hear more of it."

"Argument, hmm? How about the fact that your socks are turning me on beyond belief?"

She laughed and he tumbled her to the bed, covering her nearly naked body with his own.

"See, you think I'm joking." A kiss to her jaw. "But I'm not." A lick at her neck. "I'm serious." A nuzzle to her breast. "Those socks are sexy as hell."

Her body shook with laughter and he watched in delight as her breasts bounced.

"I think you should wear those socks every time we have sex," he continued as he ran his tongue over a hard nipple.

"I think you've finally lost your mind. Is that what happens when you're deprived of sex?" she asked, chuckling.

"Yes," he answered promptly, his hands skimming down her hips and sliding her underwear off. He was careful not to pull the socks with them, though.

Her chuckles turned into outright laughter. "Josh! I refuse to make love to you while wearing socks."

"Too late. The socks are a deal breaker," he said, lowering his mouth to nibble at the flesh of her stomach.

She laughed some more and Josh smiled against her skin. "You think I'm joking?"

"I'm terrified you're not," she answered, her hands tangling in his hair. "But just in case you are – actually, even if you aren't – I think we need to make this escapade a little more equitable. Get your ass up here, Lyman, and strip."

"God, you're a pushy wench," he said, grinning at her impatience to have him naked. He pushed away from her and stood beside the bed, quickly pulling his t-shirt and boxers off.

"Pushy? Wench?"

" I may have misspoke," he corrected hastily. Climbing back onto the bed, he covered her body with his and enjoyed the feel of her skin against his. "Beautiful, stunning, sexy – should I continue?"

"You may," she encouraged as she wound her arms and legs around him.

He pushed into her and nearly exploded right then and there. She felt so good. Hot, wet, tight… and, oh god, she was doing that thing where she squeezed him with her muscles. "Donnnnna…"

"What? I thought you liked that. Besides I'm still waiting for my… Oh!"

He thrust into her hard and then slid back until he was nearly all the way out. "Oh?" he teased.

"Just… yeah. Keep doing that," she moaned as he thrust again.

A few more strokes and he was gritting his teeth to keep from coming. "Donna… I'm not going to be able to last much longer," he ground out.

Silently, she grabbed his hand and moved it between their bodies. Taking her cue, he inched downward until he felt the hard nub of her clit. He quickly set up a rhythm, alternating strokes in and out of her body with small circles against her clit. Whimpering, she pushed her hips up at him and he increased his efforts. With both his hand and his body, he pushed her closer and closer to the edge, and was rewarded a few moments later with a soft cry.

Satisfied that she had reached her climax, he removed his hand, sliding it smoothly up her body before bracing it against the mattress beside her head to gain leverage. His thrusting grew harder and faster. A few short strokes later and he was shouting as his own climax hit him, his body going rigid above hers.

Satisfied, Josh collapsed against her, panting into her hair, before pulling out and rolling to his side next to her. How on earth had he managed to stay away from her for as long as he had? She was incredible. The things she made him feel…

He turned to tell her so, but stopped when he felt her hands pushing against his chest.

"Josh. You have to go."

"What?" She pushed on his chest again, and he felt himself slipping back over the sheets. "Wait!" Josh yelped, just before another push sent him over the edge of the bed. He landed hard, the hotel carpet not kind at all to his naked skin. Rubbing at his abused posterior, he glared up at her. "Donna!"

She kneeled at the edge of the bed and peered down at him. "I'm serious. You have to go. It will look bad if anyone sees you leaving any later."

"It'll look bad at any time if anyone sees me walking out of your room wearing only my boxers. At least if you let me stay until we're sure everyone's asleep..." he wheedled.

Donna frowned at him. "Josh..."

He shook his head in disbelief. "You're serious?"

"Very."

"Let me get this straight. You're willing to break the no sex rule when it suits your, um, needs, but as soon as those needs are met, you kick me out?"

She managed to look sheepish. "Josh… I explained weeks ago why we couldn't… shouldn't… do this."

"Yeah, but I thought I could talk you out of it," he grumbled as he stood and started getting dressed. "But let me tell you, you're missing out on a hell of a lot of post-coital cuddling."

"I know," she said softly as she leaned back against the pillows.

"Yeah?"

"Yes. But…"

"It would look bad for both our campaigns," he finished for her. He leaned over and kissed her. "I know. But don't think this is going to stop me from trying again," he warned.

"I won't."

"Goodnight, Donnatella."

He waited until she had snuggled under the covers and whispered her own goodnight, then quietly opened the door and headed back to his own room. There were still a few more hours to his night, and it was time for him to try and get some sleep.
~~~~~

The following night, Donna watched through the peephole as Josh fumbled with his keycard, wondering if there was any reason at all she could find for going over to his room. She couldn't exactly knock on his door and announce that he was right – that the rules did suck -- especially after the way she had kicked him out of her room last night. Josh wasn't the type of guy who would be gently understanding. She snorted. Humiliating was more like it. His I-told-you-so's were legendary.

Dejected, she turned away from her door and resigned herself to a quiet night alone. It wouldn't be so horribly bad. After all, she needed to catch up on her sleep. And there were a few items on tomorrow's schedule to review. She could go one night without Josh, couldn't she, even if the idea depressed her?

She looked down at the envelope she had picked up from outside her door, thinking about the press information it contained. Surely there must be some issue or agenda item she could go over there to discuss with him. And if the talking progressed to something else? Well, Josh could hardly say I-told-you-so if he didn't know her real purpose for going over there.

With no solid plan on how to accomplish her goal, but her mind firmly made up, she tossed the envelope on her bed and opened the door. No one appeared to be around, so she stepped out, crossed the hall and knocked hesitantly.

He answered, still wearing the crumpled suit from earlier in the day, and she licked her lips as she took in the loosely dangling tie and the rolled-up sleeves. Of all the times she had seen him like that at the end of the day, she couldn't remember ever being quite as attracted to him as she was right now.

Of course, it could just be withdrawal. Now that they spent their days apart, she hadn't been able to appreciate his relaxed, after-work look in a while. Or it could be that lust had completely scrambled her brain. Regardless, she itched to tug on his tie, pull him close and kiss him senseless.

She was not going to admit that to him, though. As far as he knew, she wasn't here to seduce him. She was here to talk about business. That was all.

"Donna? What are you doing here?" His expression made it clear that he was surprised to see her.

"'Santos For America' supporters keep showing up at Russell's press events, flashing their signs at the TV cameras and making a general nuisance of themselves. We need to do something about it. The voters should have a fair chance to hear from all the candidates, not just the supporters who shout the loudest," she announced without preamble.

He squinted at her and held the door open wider so she could step inside. "What?"

"The Santos supporters are deliberately trying to sabotage Russell's campaign, and I need to you do something about it," she declared, walking into the room and spinning around to face him. "We need to work something out so that each candidate's supporters only attend their candidate's rallies."

"It doesn't work that way," Josh told her, his forehead scrunching up in confusion.

"We could be revolutionaries," she suggested, realizing even as she said it that she sounded ridiculously pathetic. But it was all she'd been able to come up with on the spur of the moment, so she plunged ahead gamely. "Begin a whole new era of American politics."

"You've discussed this with Bingo Bob?"

She shook her head. "I'm discussing it with you."

He started to smirk. "I thought we weren't supposed to talk about our campaigns."

Oh God. She was blowing this. He knew exactly why she was here and he was amused by it. But she was determined to see things through. Putting on her best game face, she replied, "I'm not asking you to reveal strategy secrets. I'm asking you to consider a new and innovative way to handle things."

He didn't even bother to stifle his chuckle. "You know, Donna, someone might think you were trying to break the rules."

She immediately straightened her shoulders and assumed her best pout. "I can't believe you'd think that."

"No? Because the pouting makes it look a lot like that's what you're doing."

"I'm not," she insisted.

"Really?" he drawled.

She returned his look steadily, even though her pounding heart made it hard to concentrate on anything except how much she wanted to just throw him onto the bed and have her way with him. "Really."

Josh smiled widely. "Fine. You're simply here to discuss… strategy."

She nodded. "Yes. Strategy."

"Uh-huh."

She couldn't take it anymore. The grin, the laughing eyes, those muscular arms. Even the know-it-all smirk was turning her on, making her insane. "Oh, just shut up."

She threw herself at him, kissing him hard and fast, her hands tangling in his hair. He chuckled against her mouth and she retaliated by nipping at his lower lip. He only laughed harder. Pulling away, she frowned at him.

"This isn't funny," she told him, her mouth turning down in frustration.

He ignored her pout and grinned. "It's a little funny. C'mon, admit it! You kicked me out of bed last night because you said it would look bad and now you're ---mmmpph."

This time, she didn't give him a chance to laugh. Her tongue swept against his lips and insisted on entry. He responded immediately, and the feel of his tongue against hers sent electric shock waves through her body.

It was everything she'd been wanting. Warm and moist, tasting slightly of coffee, and just so very… Josh. Her senses filled with him. Wanting him, needing him, feeling him…

With a squeak of need, she pushed against him, wanting even more contact. But it wasn't enough, because of all the clothes in the way.

Pulling away slightly, she whipped her sweater and t-shirt off, revealing the pale globes of her breasts. Happily, she noted that Josh seemed to have trouble breathing. "Still think this is funny?"

"Hilarious," he choked, reaching out to trace the dusky nipple of her left breast. Her insides fluttered, but she brushed his hand away and gave him a little push towards the bed.

"You're being pushy again," he noted, a smile playing about his lips.

"You like it when I'm pushy," Donna said with a grin as she urged him onto the mattress and straddled his hips.

"I do."

Slowly and with infinite care, she unknotted his tie, sliding it from his collar and tossing it to the side. "And you like sex, too."

"Also true," he agreed with a little smirk.

"So why shouldn't I combine the two?"

"That's an excellent question. I think you should. Definitely. Proceed with both."

Stroking her hands down his chest, she stopped to fiddle with the lowest button on his shirt. Now that she had him exactly where she wanted him, she wasn't in any rush. Anticipation was enough for now.

Josh seemed to have other ideas, though. Propping his head up on folded arms, he asked, "You gonna do anything with that button?"

"I'm thinking about it," she sassed back. She studied the button. "If I undo this one, I'll have to undo the next one, too."

"That would be horrible."

"It really would. I'd have to undo them all, or else we'd have an entire button mutiny," she said as she flicked the button from the hole with her finger.

"We can't have that. Maybe we should preempt the mutiny."

"How could we do that?"

"Uhm, by doing this?" He sat up, dislodging her a little, and pulled the still buttoned shirt over his head. Donna helped, pushing his t-shirt up with it. Her hands smoothed across the hard muscles of his chest, pausing to play with his nipples. He groaned and kissed her, hard and quick.

"You know what else might get mutinous ideas? Your pants. I think we should take those off too." She grinned and slid down the bed a little. "Just to be preemptive."

"Good idea. You want to let me up?"

She shook her head and smiled impishly at him. "No."

"No?"

"Nope." Bending her head low, she unbuckled his belt, taking more time and care than necessary. Slowly, she slid it from its loops, occasionally brushing her hand across the swell of his erection as she went.

"Donna…"

She peered up at him through a curtain of hair. "What? I'm preventing a mutiny."

"If you don't just get it done, there will be a mutiny of a very different kind," he warned.

She laughed and finished pulling the belt away, then tugged his pants and boxers down his legs in one swift move. Like his arms, they wore corded with hard muscle, making it impossible for her to resist running her tongue up the inside of one. She felt him shudder and turned to lick his other leg too, ending the soft caress with a wet kiss at the base of his cock.

"Uh, Donna? That mutiny? Still brewing," he choked out, as his hands tangled in her hair and attempted to bring her back up his body.

"Good." One of her hands awkwardly shucked off her pants and underwear. The other made its way around his cock, stroking and pumping it until he was writhing in frustration. He growled and she grinned up at him.

"You like frustrating me this way, don't you?"

She nodded. "Would you prefer I frustrate you another way?"

"Yes!"

Her fist slid down his cock one last time, and then her mouth was covering the moist tip, her tongue licking at the salty wetness for a moment before her lips slipped over the entire head.

Josh was nearly incoherent when he spoke. "I didn't… I… argh... grrrghh…"

"Yoth canth huv ith bouth vaysss, Jothua."

His hips jerked as her lips slid farther down, taking him all in. "You… God! You're killing me here!"

Her only response was to slowly suck at his burgeoning flesh, making him twitch and shudder and mumble disjointedly until he physically jerked away, forcing her to release him from her mouth.

She pretended to pout. "That didn't feel good?"

"It felt /too/ good. You need to stop if you want to get something out of this night, too."

A grin lit up her face. "Oh. Well. Did you have another idea?"

"I have lots of ideas, but right now, I'd settle for being inside of you."

"I think that can be arranged." With a little shimmy of her hips, she slid up his body.

Slowly, she lowered herself onto his swollen cock until he completely filled her.

He reached out and cupped her breasts, his fingers running over her nipples, making her sigh in pleasure. She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, concentrating on his touch. A soft stroke here, a tender caress there. His fingers played along every inch of her body, each touch inflaming her senses until she couldn't remain still any longer. She rocked above him, intensifying the sensation of each stroke of his hand with the stroke of his cock within her.

"You are so beautiful," he breathed.

Her eyes flew open and she looked down at him, all her emotions clearly shining in her eyes. She opened her mouth to tell him that it was all him. He did this to her. Made her beautiful, made her wanton. But the words wouldn't come out. So she leaned forward and kissed him, deeply, passionately.

He groaned and reached for her hips, pulling her tightly against him. "Donna…"

"Josh… I… God…" She pushed at him, slid against him, faster, faster, felt it coming, that hot, tight coil winding ever tighter within her…

And then he slid his hand around her hip and touched her – there, right there -- setting off an explosion of sensation that she couldn't control. She shuddered all around him, crying out at the intensity of feeling.

With a shout, he pushed up at her, once, twice, hard, and his body stiffened. She felt a flood of liquid heat between her thighs and then he was repeating her name over and over as he pulsed within her.

Donna collapsed against him, listening to his rapidly beating heart, feeling the rise and fall of his chest as he sucked in air and recovered from the exertion.

She waited until his breath had evened out before she attempted to slide away. She couldn't stay. She'd made the rules and she'd broken the one about sex, but she couldn't break the one about staying. "I should go."

She miscalculated how exhausted he really was, though, because the second she moved he tightened his embrace. "Stay."

Turning her head, she noticed that his eyes were still closed, but there was a smile on his face. He looked peaceful and relaxed, and when he tugged her back down to his chest, she had trouble resisting.

"It's against the rules," she protested feebly.

"There's coffee," he coaxed. "I think there will be, anyhow. I haven't quite figured out that coffee maker."

She chuckled softly. "You probably put too much in. It'll be horrible and I'll have to go back to my room to get more."

"Don't care. We can figure out the coffee thing in the morning. Right now, I want you here. No more hiding, no more rules," he mumbled, his arms pulling her even closer. "Stay."

She snuggled into his side, realizing that this is exactly where she wanted to be.

"Ok, I'll stay. No more rules," she agreed sleepily. And then she closed her eyes and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
~~~~~