Strangers

Strangers is the love story between a Democratic Governor of Wisconsin, Knight LaVelle, and a Democratic State Senator, Sophia Winters.
EXCERPT ONE, Knight's words to Sophia:“If you want me to make love to you, you are going to have to look into my eyes first and say, and mean the words you have undoubtedly said to other men, ‘Knight, I love you.’ I want you beneath me on a bed, accepting me as a man, looking into my eyes while I make love to you, saying the words, and meaning them, the words, ‘I love you.’ I am not sleeping with you until or unless you do.”
The room seemed to spin around Sophia as the full meaning of Knight’s words struck her.
She did love him.
But she was not about to let him know that! To do so would make her so vulnerable to him that . . . . It would be unbearable.
She could not say the words he waited to hear.
He turned his back to her and walked slowly toward the door.
EXCERPT TWO, Sophia's love letter to Knight: "When I am apart from you I feel as if my soul has been devoured and is devoid of life. I am in such deep pain that there is nothing on earth sufficient to console me at being apart from you. Nothing around me interests me. Nothing I do or am supposed to do but cannot do because I cannot survive without you satisfies me. I look at beauty all around me and I cannot truly see it because all I can think of is you. I try to feel something, anything for my surroundings, the way I used to feel for those same places and people and things, but I feel nothing. Except a soul-deep, never-ending need for you."
EXCERPT THREE, Knights' argument with a representative of a special interest group: “We can destroy you, Knight.”
LaVelle was furious. He counted to ten silently before responding. “Go ahead! I’ve seen STA destroy a lot of good politicians and candidates by lying and cheating and refusing to support candidates who are running in districts which are harder to win. I’ve seen you run ads that are so full of mistruths that you should have been charged with criminal defamation of character! I’ve watched you bully office holders into caving in to your demands by your threats to withdraw support or to back their opponents in the next election. I’ve seen what the power of money can do in elections. I’ve seen how badly you hurt people in the name of supposed justice! I will not be threatened! Least of all by a bunch of power-drunk bastards who wanted publicity so badly that they attacked a governor and his office to get it! So go ahead, make me a target for your wrath!”
The truth of LaVelle’s angry words struck home. MacIntyre visibly flinched.
“That’s politics! If you can’t take the pressure, Knight, get out of . . . .”
Knight held up his hand to silence the other man.
“I am not just a governor, Kane. I am also a human being. I have human feelings. And what you did was not only a political affront, but it was a personal affront to me and to my character and to my humanity as well. Can you and your people never stop the political games long enough to think about what you are doing to your political target’s lives?"
EXCERPT FOUR, Love Scene:“How dare you insult me in front of a crowd of several hundred people! By God, Sophia, if you have not learned to respect me and my office to date, you will learn it in this room tonight!”
Sophia flinched at his words. “I do respect you, Governor.”
He stared at her, incredulous.
“You consider slapping me in the face by refusing my appointment to a senate seat to be a form of respect?”
“You gave me no warning of what you intended to do. You gave Bill and Sharon no warning that you no longer intended to appoint Bill. How could you hurt Bill this way?” Sophia demanded, her eyes flashing angrily at him.
“This is politics.”
“You are being a hurtful bastard!”
Knight pulled her close.
“All right, Sophia, I’m a bastard, a heartless SOB, a power-drunk governor who forces his will on his subjects for the sake of throwing his weight around. Anything you want to add?”
Only that being pinned against his virile body felt . . . . right. Even under the absurdity of the circumstances.
His hand gently tipped her chin up so that she was forced to look into his eyes.
“Why don’t you start by telling me that you truly don’t want to be a state senator.”