“Fuck you. You don’t belong in my house, and my wife doesn’t need you here.”

  “She doesn’t feel safe around you. I understand why after she watched you commit murder. Then you chased her down the stairwell, bloody knife in hand.”

  “She can’t prove that I had any intention of hurting her.”

  No, but she could prove Brent Westbrook’s murder. Todd stupidly believed he’d had all her copies destroyed. Then again, did it matter if the crooked press wouldn’t show the public?

  Matt shrugged. “She doesn’t have to. I believe her.”

  “This is bullshit. I’m calling the cops to have you and that other tatted-up asshole thrown out.”

  “Try it. I’ll take Madison with me.”

  “Then she’ll never get that divorce,” Todd said smugly, as if he’d spewed the own of the century.

  Matt sent him a shark’s smile. “That’s okay. I have other ways of making sure she’s free of you permanently.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Are you threatening me?”

  I have wet dreams about killing you with my bare hands. “Take it however you want.”

  “You’re all talk,” he hissed.

  “If you think that, you didn’t pay attention to my background.”

  Todd snorted in fury. “Three million. It’s more money than you’ll ever see in your lifetime.”

  “Fuck off,” Matt quipped less than a heartbeat later.

  “Five.”

  “Fuck off.”

  “Eight. That’s my best and final.”

  “And my answer is still the same. Fuck off.” He would never leave Madison alone in this den of vipers.

  Todd lunged in his face. “I will smear your daddy’s name all over that piss-ass town he lives in. No one will speak to him again.”

  Matt laughed. “My father managed that all by himself. The whole damn city has always thought he was a horrible human being. Nothing improved a few years back when his girlfriend blew her brains out all over his kitchen floor. You might have read about it in whatever investigator’s report you paid for?”

  “You’re a fucking asshole!”

  “Sticks and stones…”

  “This isn’t over. Mark my words.” Todd bared his teeth. “You will be leaving her behind.”

  “No. I won’t. Ever.”

  After her mind-blowing orgasm on the sofa, Madison did exactly as Matt demanded—went to her suite, showered, and climbed under the covers. But after weeks of sleeping beside him, wrapped in his arms, her bed felt cold and empty. Her pillow didn’t breathe like Matt. Her sheets didn’t caress her through the night. Her mattress didn’t kiss her and manipulate her clit during the wee hours until she woke throbbing and begging for him.

  Hours passed before she dozed in her solitary bed—only to wake to Todd’s angry tirade. She couldn’t hear the actual words he exchanged with Matt, but their raised voices and furious tones were unmistakable. Why was Todd even at her door? He didn’t want her, and she damn sure couldn’t stomach his touch. Even the thought of him near her made Madison queasy.

  She barely restrained the urge to toss her common sense in the dumpster, wrench open her bedroom door, and demand her husband go to hell. She didn’t. She couldn’t. If she hurled her fuel onto the fire, the blazing argument would burn out of control. Todd was the kind of asswipe who would not only relish hurting Matt, but his enormous ego would get off on the power trip of quashing someone bigger and badder. Bonus points if that crushed her, too. And it would. Matt getting hurt was Madison’s biggest fear.

  Half an eternity passed before her bedroom walls reverberated with the slam of Todd’s door. She raced to her own and cracked it, nearly sagging with relief when she found Matt in one piece.

  “Are you all right?” She didn’t dare touch him, no matter how badly she ached to.

  “Of course. Go back to sleep.”

  She’d cast a nervous glance at her husband’s bedroom door. “But Todd⁠—”

  “Isn’t going to bother you again tonight. I’m making sure of it.”

  “By standing here and…”

  “Protecting you. He’s not getting past me. I promise.”

  Matt meant that. She saw the resolve on his face, and his watchful streak did wicked things to her heart. He had talked her through an explosive climax mere hours ago, and she wanted him desperately again, so badly that her lips tingled and her sex ached. God, this man made her fall deeper in love with him every day.

  “Go back to bed,” Matt growled as he gripped the doorframe, his eyes darkening. “Now.”

  He wanted her, too. And his restraint was running thin.

  Reluctantly, Madison nodded. Shutting the door between them felt a hundred kinds of wrong, but she did, returning to bed despite the fact she didn’t feel sleepy. But she dozed again, secure in the fact Matt would keep her safe.

  When she finally opened her eyes, half the morning was gone. Quickly, she tossed herself together, then rushed from her room, only to find Matt’s bedroom door across the hall shut. She stifled her disappointment and fought not to press herself against his door like a lovesick teenager. Or to barge into his personal space, removing her clothes along the way, like an over-eager lover.

  Her one consolation? Her husband’s door was closed, too. She could steal a bit more peace before Typhoon Todd tried to destroy her day.

  Madison let out a deep breath and headed down the hall. The closer she got to the living space, the louder the low-level chatter from the TV sounded.

  When she rounded the corner, she found Ethan pouring himself a cup of coffee. He looked too put together not to have showered already. Dressed in a tight black T-shirt, he showed off his tatted sleeves and large, veined hands. His ripped jeans fit like they were made for him, but seemed at odds with his big, bare feet. He also didn’t look even slightly intimidated by the luxury trappings of Todd’s apartment.

  “Morning, sweet pea.” He grinned. “Or should I say Sleeping Beauty?”

  Madison tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear self-consciously. She’d brushed it…but hadn’t made any other effort beyond throwing a little cotton robe over her pajamas. Next to Ethan, she felt underdressed. And though she’d lived in this apartment for more than two years, it no longer felt like home. “Morning. It is really almost nine thirty?”

  “It really is.” And he obviously thought that was funny.

  “What time did you get up?”

  “Four.”

  She blinked at him. “In the morning? On purpose?”

  “Yep. I hit the gym downstairs and grabbed a shower, then relieved Matt of duty at five.”

  “He’s asleep now,” she said inanely.

  “I sure hope so. He’d been up over twenty-four hours. He looked like dog shit when I passed him in the hall.”

  Madison winced, feeling guilty as hell. Even if Todd was paying Matt double his usual rate, how could that possibly make up for the odd hours, the abuse from her husband, the months away from home, and the disruption to his life?

  And he was enduring all that for her.

  “I’m so much hotter.” Ethan grinned. “You sleep okay?”

  “Not my best, but I’ll live. You?”

  “Not much of a sleeper. So what’s on your agenda today? Your calendar is my calendar—at least until five p.m. Then you’re Matt’s problem again. Unless you just want to say fuck everything and spend the day in bed with me?” He winked.

  Despite how much she hated being back in DC, Ethan made her giggle. “You’re only twenty-one.”

  “I’m almost twenty-two.”

  “You’re a baby.”

  “A baby?” he parroted, mouth gaping. “Listen, sweet pea, I’ve got game. And a whole lot of moves.”

  She raised a brow. “Do you? By your own admission, you lost your ex-girlfriend to your father.”

  “Hey, Havana and I dated when we were in high school. By the time she and my dad got together shortly after graduation, she was already my ex. And she’s with Dad, not me, because they’re perfect together, age-gap BS aside.”

  “Still, how is that not weird?”

  “We were never serious. We were more friends than anything. Besides, there’s something to be said for having the hottest stepmom around.” Then Ethan winced. “Except my dad seems determined to keep her pregnant. I have a two-year old brother, and she’s about to pop out another boy. Dad is already talking about a third. Havana just wants a girl. And to finish vet school.”

  “Well, that charming story aside, you’re still too young. I’m not a cougar.”

  “But I’ll bet you’re an animal in the sack.”

  Madison laughed again. “No comment. Where did you come from before you hired on at EM Security?”

  “I grew up with this business. My dad and my uncles are all former military intelligence, CIA, that kind of shit. They own a similar firm, based out of Dallas.”

  “Really? I heard your dad was a mafia assassin.”

  “Undercover for a couple of years in Vegas, along with my Uncle Ridge. When I got old enough, they asked me to join their team, but I wanted to do my own thing, you know? I became a Marine. During my years in the service, I attended sniper school. All those guys talk about One-Mile Walker like he’s God. So when I had a chance to meet him at an intensive, we started talking. Turned out that my hitch was up about the same time EM Security needed a new guy.” He shrugged. “Here I am.”

  “Liking it so far?”

  “Yeah. Everyone has been pretty welcoming.” Then his face clouded over. “Mostly. It’s fine. So…today? What’s the plan?”

  “Nothing. As far as I know, the Pershings have no campaign events to attend, so we can just hang out.”

  Not that she had much choice. She wasn’t allowed to leave the apartment without Todd or his permission except her one day a week. God, she hated that he was making her life hell. But she wasn’t surprised.

  “So if we’re not going to bang…” He leaned in with a hopeful expression “Last call.”

  She loved the way he teased, but thanked god he wasn’t serious. “Not happening.”

  He sighed. “Then what is there to do in this place?”

  “I can make breakfast.”

  “Already eaten. Want me to make you some while you shower?”

  “That would be nice. Thank you.”

  “Then we can swap spit on the sofa?”

  “You’re such an incorrigible flirt. No. We can watch TV.”

  His expression turned serious. “You know I just want to make you laugh, right? You’re in a rough spot.”

  “I appreciate that. I’ll be back in thirty or so.”

  “Cool. Eggs and bacon? Waffles? Something else?”

  She would love comfort food…but Agatha would only harangue her if she gained weight. Besides, the stress had unsettled her stomach since she’d returned to DC. She’d eaten almost nothing during that exhausting dinner last night. And after a few sleepless hours of wondering how she could get out of this trial in one piece with Matt by her side, she still wasn’t hungry this morning.

  “How about an English muffin with peanut butter?”

  “That’s it?” At her nod, he sent her a swaggering smile. “You got it. Then maybe a horror movie marathon?”

  “I was thinking Jane Austen.”

  He visibly shuddered. “You’re not just trying to take my man card. You’re trying to run it over, then back up, run it over again, then pulverize it in a chipper-shredder before you dump it in the garbage.”

  “I’m not. Think of this as me broadening your horizons. There’s more to life than blood, guts, and sex.”

  “Nope. I refuse to believe that.”

  Madison rolled her eyes. “Okay, let me know how that works out for you. I’ll be back.”

  When she returned after a shower, she let herself out of her suite, only to find both Matt’s and Todd’s bedroom doors still shut and the smell of peanut butter in the air.

  “Breakfast, sweet pea.” Ethan served it on a plate he settled on the table in front of the TV, along with a banana and a glass of juice. “Coffee?”

  “Sure. Two sugars and cream.”

  “Coming right up.”

  “Thank you. You know, if this badass operative thing doesn’t work out, maybe you could try being a kept man. Or a husband.”

  “Bite your tongue.” He laughed as he settled the coffee near her plate and reached for the remote.

  Ten minutes and a whole lot of complaining later, Kiera Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen filled the big screen. Madison ate, surprised when Ethan asked questions about the lives of the Bennett family and the mores of the time. He joined her dislike of shrew Caroline Bingley. And some of his observations were hysterical.

  “Lizzy and Darcy just need to fuck already.”

  “None of that before marriage in this time period.”

  He grimaced. “No wonder all these dudes are wearing lace and look constipated. And I’m sorry, but I can’t buy Rosamund Pike as the sweet sister. All I see is the psycho from Gone Girl.” He glanced at the screen again. “Aww, seriously? Bingley is going to propose to her? Dude, mayday. Mayday. Bail now before she cuts off your nads.”

  “What the fuck is this?” Todd barked at the opening of the hallway, startling her.

  The coffee cup almost slipped from her hand. “A movie.”

  He scowled. “Turn it off.”

  “No.” The flick was almost over, but she refused to let him boss her around. “You said we didn’t have any plans today and I can’t leave here, so I’m doing what I want.”

  “I said we didn’t have any campaign stops today. But we have work to do. We have a rally scheduled the first Saturday in August at a mega community center. We need to rehearse.”

  “We don’t have any work to do, Todd. You’re just trying to be an asshole and ruin whatever fun I can find because you take particular joy in making me miserable. All I have to do at this event is smile and nod. You won’t let me speak to reporters or constituents except in the most basic of ways like, ‘Senator Pershing’s education platform is the best’ or ‘my father is improving, thank you for asking.’ So don’t try to BS me.”

  Todd stomped across the living room toward her, looking like an infuriated son of a bitch on a mission.

  When he reached out to grab her wrist, Ethan stepped between them, towering over her husband, and batted his hand away, all hint of levity gone. “Don’t do it.”

  “Get the fuck out of my way.”

  “You touch her, and I’ll hurt you.”

  Todd rolled his eyes. “What is it with you bodyguards? Is she fucking you, too?”

  “No, and not for lack of trying. So shut your fucking mouth.”

  “Or what? You can’t touch me.”

  “Never tell a pissed-off Marine what he can’t do, especially a sniper.”

  That finally got Todd’s attention, and he backed off. “Whatever. It’s not like I want to touch her anyway. Since she left home, she’s become the village bicycle.”

  “Grow up and stop disparaging me,” Madison hissed. “We both want this divorce. You don’t love me, and I don’t love you.”

  “What’s love got to do with anything?”

  What the hell had she ever seen in him? “You have your pets to defile, and I just want to get on with my life.”

  “With another guy’s dick shoved up your cunt,” he sneered.

  “Could you be any more disgusting? Don’t answer that. My point is, there’s nothing in this marriage for either of us. So why not make it less painful for everyone and leave me alone until the family actually needs us to appear?”

  Todd rounded the coffee table, approaching her vulnerable side, not flanked by Ethan. “You’re living in a fantasy, wife, one where the badass bodyguard supposedly gives a shit about you and will do whatever it takes to keep you safe while falling madly in love. You should know better. No one but your father loved you before you married me. No one is going to love you after, either. Why not stay and be rich? Be with one of the most powerful families in the country? At least you’ll have some fucking dignity.”

  Digs like that used to get under Madison’s skin and erode her confidence. Once upon a time, whenever she would even think about reaching out to Matt, Todd would pull that kind of spiel from his back pocket and convince her no one would ever love her. He’d remind her of all the guys who had used and left her in the past to reinforce his conclusion.

  But being with Matt in Louisiana had transformed her. He wanted what was best for her. Todd was only trying to sell her short and tear her down so that he could trap her with him for the rest of his miserable life. Madison refused to let him. Once she was free from this marriage, she would be Matt’s wife. They were in love.

  “Because there isn’t enough money in the world to make me spend the rest of my days with you. After this election, I’m going to divorce you. And I’m finally going to be happy.”

  “Is that what you think?” Todd snorted like her plans were a joke. “And who are you going to live happily ever after with? This guy—” he thumbed at Ethan—“who’s barely old enough to drink a beer and get his dick wet?”

  “Stop being an asshole. You’re so threatened by anyone who has more testosterone than you and⁠—”

  “Don’t kid yourself. I could buy and sell this moron a hundred times over and⁠—”

  “Not everything is about money.”

  Todd laughed. “Keep telling yourself that. But I guess you’re not hanging all your fairytale hopes on this frog. You’re starry eyed for that cowboy you finger-fucked yourself for on our sofa last night.”

  Madison paled, then swallowed her apprehension. Todd was guessing. He couldn’t know that for sure. “I don’t know what you mean. I napped after dinner.”

  “You’re a horrible liar. And you’re stupider than I thought if you really believe he’s going to walk away with you hand in hand after the election. He’s not going to want to fuck you—and only you—for the rest of his life. Do you know how many beautiful women he’s nailed? I’m not even sure you can count that high.”

  She would not let his digs get to her. “What he did before we met is none of my business.”