“I’ll prove it. In the meantime, this is as close as you get to touching Madison. I’ll make sure of that.”

  As Todd sauntered off, dread gonged in Matt’s gut.

  Over the next week, Pershing kept his promise.

  First, he ensured that Matt was never alone with Madison. He stayed home every goddamn night, glued to her side, sitting too close on the sofa and hovering in her personal space. Madison did her best to ignore him, but eventually she retreated to her bedroom just to escape. Todd’s smug glare made Matt itch to end him in the slowest, most painful way possible.

  Worse, his determination to separate Matt from Madison meant that he couldn’t search Pershing’s bedroom. Since he’d left the skull-topped signet ring in the empty safe inside the Dungeon of Discipline, following a clandestine phone call back to his bosses, it was burning a hole in his mental pocket.

  The second Toddhole got bored with this game and stopped hovering, the sooner Matt would retrieve the ring, help himself onto the balcony, break into the bastard’s room, and start figuring out what shit Pershing was hiding and why.

  But instead of letting up, Todd dug in. The next Thursday that should have been Matt and Madison’s alone? Todd insisted on taking her to her hair appointment. Then he paraded her into an upscale eatery for an early dinner, touching her in public, where she couldn’t escape—and making sure Matt saw, of course—before insisting they needed to head home and finish preparing for Saturday’s campaign event.

  When they arrived, Agatha was waiting with Madison’s wardrobe for the next few weeks. Half of it was at least a size too small. The old bag frowned in disapproval and disgust. Todd joined in, berating Madison for her juicy ass—only good for fucking and bad for the campaign trail. He warned there would be repercussions if her pantsuit didn’t fit in the next eighteen hours.

  Matt wanted to strangle them both.

  Eventually, Agatha tossed up her hands and left. Todd decided that “preparing” should include more touching that rattled Madison as they practiced entering a room, sitting, then exiting together. Finally, Madison had enough of the little prick’s groping and went to bed.

  Matt cursed. He hadn’t had the opportunity to touch her once in the last week. Worse, Todd wore a smarmy, gotcha smile like he had something up his sleeve. It made Matt uneasy.

  Just after midnight, he unleashed it.

  “Come to the living room. I need to show you something, Montgomery.”

  “Not happening. I’m watching over Madison.”

  Todd held up his hands. “I’ll be in the living room with you. I can’t touch her from that far away, and there’s no one else here. Give me five minutes.”

  “No.”

  “Say yes, and I’ll let you and Madison have Monday and Thursday together next week.”

  Matt didn’t want to be swayed. Todd was only being generous for some cause that suited him. But the little prick really couldn’t hurt her from another room, and Matt craved the alone time with his girl.

  Nailing Todd with a suspicious stare, Matt began sweeping the unit. “Open your bedroom door so I can ensure no one’s inside.”

  “Sure.” Todd flashed his fob in front of the panel and shoved the door wide with a too-affable smile.

  Matt didn’t trust that expression as he prowled into the bastard’s personal space, checking from top to bottom. Empty. He turned to Todd again. “Study?”

  As if he didn’t have a care in the world, Pershing unlocked that room, too. Matt wished he had an opportunity to search the drawers and what he’d bet was a wall safe behind a painting. Hopefully, another time… At least he could be assured that no one else hid in the home office.

  Then he tapped on Ethan’s door. To the kid’s credit, he was awake, half dressed, and eyeing him alertly in under thirty seconds. “What’s wrong?”

  “Your room clear? Nothing and no one giving you shit?”

  Ethan looked at him as if he questioned Matt’s sanity. “No. If someone was trying to get into my room, they’d be fucking dead. What’s going on?”

  “Toddhole wants to play show-and-tell.”

  “And you’d tell him to fuck off, but he’s going to give you something you want. More time with Madison?”

  The kid was nothing if not perceptive. “Yeah.”

  “Need me to watch her door?”

  Matt hated trusting Ethan, but he’d proven solid on days and had been surprisingly less interested in seducing Madison lately. “Would you?”

  “Sure. Let me grab my gear.”

  “Jesus, you paranoid bastard,” Todd grumbled. “I didn’t ask you to leave the building or even the unit, just walk down the hall.”

  Matt ignored him, sweeping his own bedroom before facing Todd. “Let me into Madison’s room.”

  “No.”

  “Then fuck you.”

  Sighing, Todd shook his head like the interaction he’d started was a chore, and Matt was totally beneath him. “Fine.”

  As the douche swiped his fob over the panel, Matt waited for the little click, then pushed into her bedroom.

  She slept on her side, hair in a messy bun, with one hand under her cheek. Her bare shoulder, bisected by a pale spaghetti strap, peeked out from her covers. He stifled an overwhelming urge to touch her and slipped into her closet, her bathroom, and every dark corner in between until he was convinced only the four of them were inside the apartment.

  Finally, Matt shut the door behind him and met Todd in the hall just as Ethan emerged from his room, now wearing a T-shirt and carrying his Glock. With a nod, the kid stood at Madison’s door.

  “Thanks,” Matt said to his fellow operative.

  “No sweat.”

  Matt addressed Todd. “Okay. What’s in the living room that you need to show me right this fucking minute?”

  “Since you’re the guy who needs to see what I can do for you before you believe me, I brought you a present. Check it out.”

  That instantly put Matt on alert. Since Todd would ten times rather give him a bullet to the brain, the little prick was up to something.

  Reluctantly, he followed Pershing to the open living area, then watched Madison’s husband yank open the front door with a giant smile and a sweep of his arm.

  A young woman stood in the portal. She was probably the most stunning female he’d ever seen. She had long, dark hair that fluttered to her waist, framing glittering eyes and red-painted lips in a sensual face. The red dress that hugged her every curve was nothing short of sinful perfection. So was the body underneath—big tits, tiny waist, curvaceous hips, lush ass. Her sleek thighs were exposed, and her platform shoes were pure sex, all but begging a man to fuck her.

  “Beautiful, isn’t she?” Todd murmured.

  “Very.” Matt could appreciate how gorgeous she was. But he didn’t have any intention of fucking her.

  Todd’s smile widened. “Graciela is imported from a small village in Guatemala. Her parents died. Her brothers were killed. And the poor girl, barely eighteen, was left alone. Since she was starving, she was willing to sell her virginity online for a one-way ticket to the States. Some friends of mine found her. I’ve preserved her hymen. For you. And I’ve made sure she knows her place.”

  What the fuck? “Her place?”

  “Wherever you tell her. On her knees, on her back… She’ll submit to you, call you Sir or Master or whatever kinky shit you enjoy.”

  Todd thought nothing of buying a human being just trying to survive and taking away her will. It made Matt want to puke. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “Not at all. She’s yours. Do what you want with her, when you want, how you want, as often as you want, as hard as you want… Pluck her cherry on the floor, bend her over the table and fuck her ass. Hoard her. Share her.” He shrugged. “Your choices are unlimited. All you have to do to take possession of a sex slave for life and that eight million I already offered you is walk away from Madison.”

  Matt didn’t hesitate. “No.”

  “Think about it. My wife is mouthy and definitely not perfect. Graciela understands that her continued survival depends on her cooperation. She’ll literally do anything with, to, or for you.”

  God, he was disgusting, and Matt couldn’t help but meet the woman’s eyes. Under all that liner and fake lashes, her eyes were glassy, pupils wide. Had she been drugged? Probably, but he could still see on some level that she was terrified. “My answer is the same. No.”

  Todd gritted his teeth. “Because you don’t believe me? I’ll demonstrate. Graciela?”

  The girl snapped to attention and nodded at Todd before bowing her head.

  “Undress for him,” he demanded. “But leave your shoes on.”

  “Sí,” she murmured, then lowered one of the straps holding up her dress with trembling fingers. Next, she brushed aside the one on her other shoulder.

  “Stop,” Matt demanded.

  The confused woman looked between them, and Todd shook his head. Matt cursed when Graciela continued shimmying her dress down her impressive rack, outlined by a full-body BDSM harness that exposed every part of her. She draped the stretchy red dress over the back of the nearby sofa, then held her arms wide, as if signaling that she was his to do with as he pleased.

  Of course she was hot. He was a guy, and that was impossible to ignore. But Matt could see her fighting the urge to cover herself. He felt fucking sorry for her.

  “Perfection,” Todd purred. “Now kneel at his feet.”

  Matt’s heart stuttered when Graciela slid gracefully to her knees and looked up at him, dark eyes wide and blinking. “Listen⁠—”

  “Suck his cock,” Todd cut in.

  With shaking fingers, the woman swallowed nervously, but reached for his fly.

  Matt grabbed her wrists. “No, thank you.” Then he glared Todd’s way. “And you? No fucking way. She’s a person, not a gift. You can’t give her to me. She’s a human being with her own free will.”

  “Don’t be naive. Freedom is an illusion the world’s elite have allowed the common rabble to believe. We control most everyone, especially throwaways like her. I’m offering you a chance to have your very own twenty-four seven wet dream. And you’re in luck because I believe she’s ovulating. Breed her if you want.”

  “She’s not a cow.” And he would never create a life with someone, then abandon his son or daughter.

  “Whatever. Take her and leave here and don’t look back. She’ll be more biddable and less irritating than Madison.”

  “Why aren’t you taking her, then?” Matt challenged. Not that he’d wish Toddhole on the poor girl, but sex slavery seemed up the creep’s alley.

  “Honestly? I can have ten more like her in an hour if I want.”

  The sick thing was, he probably could. Matt stepped away from Graciela with a silent apology, then glared at Todd. “No. I’m going back to guard Madison.”

  “Wait! Look!” Todd fumbled with his fly, dragging down his zipper, then plopped down to the sofa. “Crawl to me, girl.”

  Before Matt could object, the bastard snapped again, then pointed to the floor between his feet. He held his hard cock straight in the air for Graciela’s approaching mouth as she complied, her breasts swaying as she made her way toward Pershing on her hands and knees.

  He’d already seen Toddhole polish his knob in the shower. The very last thing he wanted to witness was the fucker getting off again in this innocent girl’s mouth. “Seeing her give you a blow job isn’t going to change my mind.”

  “Stand there and watch or I’ll offer Graciela to Ethan to walk away. What are the odds he’ll accept?”

  Too fucking high. Matt gritted his teeth. “If he wants her, I can’t stop him. But I won’t stand here and let you abuse her.” He forced the woman to her feet and tossed her dress at her again. “Put it on.”

  After a moment’s hesitation, she scrambled into it, relief all over her face. Once she’d finished, she wrapped her arms around her middle in a protective pose that revealed just how afraid she was.

  Todd leapt to his feet, shoved his cock in his pants, yanked up his zipper, then gave Graciela an impatient sweep of his hand. “Wait outside the door.”

  Clearly afraid to meet his stare, she bowed her head and backed away, slipping out of the apartment and shutting the door with a quiet snick. Matt wished like hell he could save her, but he knew no one in DC, and the cops were undoubtedly in the Pershings’ back pocket. He prayed the girl escaped and never looked back.

  Todd turned to him, shaking his head, eyes blazing. “What the fuck? That was perfect, once-in-a-lifetime pussy. A guy like you, without money or connections, won’t get anything that prime ever again.”

  “I don’t know her. I don’t have any attachment to her.”

  “So? Did you really have an attachment to any of the ninety-four women you fucked over the last three years.”

  Matt was done with this discussion. “I’m not leaving Madison, period.”

  “Hang on. You aren’t motivated by money or pussy, fine. Is it power you want?”

  Didn’t this fucker ever give up? This ridiculous scrambling showed just how desperate the asshole was. “Nope.”

  “There must be something you want? Job with the Secret Service on a presidential detail?”

  “No.” He headed down the hall toward Madison.

  Ethan raised a questioning brow at him. Matt just shook his head. No, don’t ask.

  “Gun lobbying position?”

  “No.”

  “CIA job?”

  “No.”

  “FBI. What about special agent in charge? Any field office you want. Name it.”

  “No.” Matt leaned against the wall next to Madison’s door, across from Ethan, and rolled his eyes.

  “Get lost, Garrison.”

  Ethan didn’t budge. “Want me to stay?”

  Matt shrugged. “Your call.”

  “Never can have too much backup, I always say.”

  For once, he and Ethan were on the same page. He appreciated the solidarity.

  Todd ignored them and kept on. “Sheriff of your hometown? The ability to make all those who looked down their noses at you for years bow and scrape? Just think. Anyone who was shitty to you or your father? You can arrest them.”

  Of course that would give Todd a boner, so he’d assume that gave Matt a raging hard-on, too. “Not without cause. People have rights.”

  The prick just laughed. “There you go again, thinking all those rules and shit matter. They don’t. Take my offer, and they’ll never matter again.”

  “You can’t just make me sheriff. That’s an elected position.”

  Todd laughed again. “Sure it is.”

  Matt wanted to puke. “Let me be clear, asswipe. I don’t want your money. I don’t want your free pussy. I don’t want any job you could give me. I only want you to leave Madison and me alone after this fucking election.”

  Todd’s face hardened. “She’s my wife, and I will never give her to you. You should have taken my offers, Montgomery. I’m going to make her sorry you didn’t.”

  “You ready? Nervous? How are you feeling?” Matt asked two days later as he hovered over Madison behind the makeshift stage, trying to block her from curious gawkers.

  This venue, a community center, made the hair on the back of his neck stand straight on end. Neither he nor Ethan had been given access to the building or its schematics in advance so they could case the joint and prepare. If they had, Matt would have objected. The place was pandemonium and way too open. During his one, much-too-brief sweep of the building, he’d found what seemed like a thousand unguarded entrances. Too many volunteers had unfettered access to the backstage area, and when he’d asked who had vetted them and what their qualifications were, he’d received a blank stare and a shrug.

  Matt was wretchedly pissed.

  Naturally, the senator’s security detail, a burly Russian named Ivan and his three well-trained professionals, had the senator and his wife protected and isolated, but the Pershings had sent Madison outside with a group of local teachers to collect canned food with other volunteers for underprivileged children. In the sweltering August heat. For two hours.

  Like they wanted her to suffer.

  She’d been wilting by the time her “shift” was over and he’d escorted her inside.

  A makeup artist had retouched her face and restyled her hair in preparation for her upcoming appearance with the family, but he still didn’t like how pasty she looked. Her eyes were unfocused. The pulse beating at her neck too fast.

  He fucking wanted to kill Toddhole and the Pershings.

  She nodded listlessly. “I’ll be okay.”

  Matt wasn’t buying it. She looked clammy as hell. He clenched his fists to keep himself from touching her forehead. “Need a medic?”

  She shook her head. “I’m just a little tired and lightheaded. It will pass. I should find more water, though.”

  “No.” Matt grabbed a nearby plastic chair and put it under Madison. “Sit. I’ll find you a bottle.”

  “I can’t. Sitting will wrinkle my pantsuit.” She dropped her voice. “Agatha will have a hissy.”

  The Dom in him wasn’t having any of that bullshit. “Sit. Down. Do you understand me?”

  Madison blinked up at him, wide eyed. He was relieved to see life in her eyes and color flush her cheeks as she complied. “Yes, Matt.”

  He flashed her a smile of approval. “Wait here.”

  As much as Matt hated to leave Madison unprotected for even a moment, if he did nothing, she’d pass out. Besides, Ethan wasn’t far. Despite having personal issues with the kid, he was good at his job. He probably had eyes on her now.

  After scrambling, he found a volunteer with bottles of water. He also swiped an unopened package of crackers and a candy bar from a stash of snacks on a shelf, then raced back to Madison.

  As he careened around the corner again, she looked up and smiled. God, she was beautiful, and he loved her so fucking much. Even though his heart was in his throat, Matt resisted the urge to grin back at her. He couldn’t wait for the day he could show the world how he felt about Madison Archer.

  Ethan appeared right behind him with a slap on the back and a glance of concern for her. “Got the scoop on the setup for the show.”