A heartbeat before ecstasy overtook her, he jerked away. Then, with his grip biting into her arm, he spun her to face him, settled his hands on her shoulders, and pushed her to her knees. Another gasp slipped free. He could feel her keening need to steal the orgasm he’d denied her. Instead, she caught herself and knelt rigidly at his feet.

  Her growing trust filled him with pride and searing arousal. Knowing what he’d planned next nearly dismantled the last of his composure.

  With one hand, he grabbed a fistful of her silken hair. With the other, he shoved his pants down and gripped his dick, then tapped her lips with his crest.

  Her expression flared with anxiety. He could almost hear the worry screaming in her head. What if someone sees us?

  He didn’t pause to explain or set her at ease. He simply fed her inch after inch of his unbearably hard cock.

  Like every time he touched her, the connection between them threatened to bulldoze his innate caution and common-sense limits. Since he was the one guiding and teaching, he needed to remain in control. Testing Madison, pushing her past her comfort zone to grow their trust—that was his goal. But fuck if it wasn’t undoing all his good intentions.

  The sight of her swollen lips parting around his head, sliding down, down his stiff length before slurping up with a desperate gusto almost fucking unraveled him. Her posture screamed that she was aware of how exposed they were, but she devoted herself to pleasing him, desire overriding her apprehension. That made her obedience excruciatingly sweeter.

  Her tongue curled along his shaft, lingering over the sensitive spot under his crown before she opened wide and took him deep. She pressed her lips around him and sucked as she pulled back, then repeated the process again.

  Matt fell into sensation. He stayed aware of their surroundings, listening for either wildlife or people. But Madison kept snaring his attention with her sweet face tilted up and her fingernails in his thighs.

  Fuck, he was fixated—on taking her, possessing her, owning her.

  As she slid him deeper into her mouth, he couldn’t stop from cradling her jaw and watching her raw need as she worshipped his cock. The future was coming for them, and they were preparing…but holy shit, he’d love to forget their past and pause the ugly future so he could lose himself in this passion now. He’d kill to build his tomorrows around this connection and never let her go.

  Using her hair in his fist, he shuttled onto her tongue again, probing his way to the back of her throat. “Fuck, honey…”

  Not that she could hear, but she must know that she got to him. Did she realize that she undid him like no other woman?

  She whimpered around his stiff length. An infraction. Disobedience. Another punishable offense. In truth, he’d slipped up first. This definitely wasn’t the time to lose more of his heart to her. Todd might be a douche, but he was a crafty one who would use their feelings for each other against them.

  With Matt’s breathing all fucked up and tingles brewing at the base of his spine, he jerked free and stared down at Madison. Her swollen lips were wet, parted, and waiting as she panted. His heart thudded. His desperate cock throbbed. His impatience ratcheted up. She was a fucking fever he couldn’t break.

  Ready to go off like a shaken bottle of beer, he gulped down air until he got himself under control. Unmoving, Madison waited, nipples engorged, in red-cheeked, open-mouthed invitation.

  He helped her to her feet and positioned her to face the swamp, parting her legs wide as he dragged her headphones off and settled them around her neck. “Get yourself off while I watch.”

  She sucked in a sharp, shocked breath and stood in lip-biting hesitation.

  “Is there something about my instructions you don’t understand?” he demanded.

  Madison lifted her face to him, and even with the blindfold, he could see the way her head wrestled between her modesty and her submission. “No. I…”

  “Then do it. Now. Put your fingers in that pretty pussy and make yourself come. I’m waiting.”

  “Why?”

  “Why am I making you masturbate instead of giving you the orgasm myself?”

  Madison swallowed. “Yes.”

  “Two reasons. First, you’ve done good, but I need more progress before I reward you. Second, you’ll be able to control your reaction to your own touch better than you can to mine. If you manage to get yourself off without a sound in the next sixty seconds, I’ll give you more orgasms.” Eventually.

  She nodded, struggling as she began strumming the clit he couldn’t quite see under her reddening, newly bare pussy. She stiffened, her back bowing. Her breathing roughened. As she grappled, she pressed her lips together, then let out a ragged breath.

  The visual of her with her fingers between her folds, dragging slow, small circles around her clit, nearly sent him off.

  “That’s it,” he murmured in her ear. “Undo yourself for me. Make it good, honey. But don’t make a sound.”

  Her body curled. Her breathing almost stopped. She dug her teeth into her plump bottom lip to hold in her gasps, but her reactions were all over her face. Later, he’d claim he was disappointed, since she couldn’t let Todd witness her emotions. But Matt fucking loved watching Madison give herself bliss.

  “Stand up straight. Control your face.”

  Instantly, she snapped to obey, standing stock still.

  “Bad girl.” He sidled up behind her, murmuring against her nape. “I didn’t tell you to stop getting yourself off. Rub that wet little clit. Let yourself go. The clock is ticking…or I’ll punish you again.”

  “I-I don’t know how to hold in my reactions.”

  “Learn. If you don’t, we’ll do this over and over until you do.”

  Her breath caught as she circled her fingers between her legs almost frantically.

  As he watched, she struggled to control her reactions while fighting her dual needs for modesty and orgasm. She was fucking beautiful, tamping down on her verbal and physical tells. Because he’d told her to. She focused inward, controlling her breathing. Her economy of motion and new self-discipline were unbearably sexy.

  But as heartbeats became long moments, a flush tiptoed up her chest and flared across her cheeks. Tension crept into her shoulders. Her pulse fluttered at her neck. Desire softened her face. She danced a captivating ballet of self-pleasure he could watch for hours.

  They didn’t have that luxury.

  “I see your need to come. Wipe it off your face.” He kissed her bare shoulder. “Then surrender to it.”

  With a jerky nod, Madison tensed, her lush mouth pressing down to a restrained line. She breathed strictly through her nose, but the sound grew more labored as she inhaled faster. The shuddering of her body and the brutal way she bit her bottom lip told him when she came. So did her forbidden, high-pitched whimper.

  Moments later, she exhaled, her shoulders slumping. Her knees nearly gave out.

  Matt raised her blindfold. She blinked, lashes fluttering as she lifted her heavy lids. She focused on him with dilated eyes, looking shaky and flattened. God, she was stunning, and he’d die if he couldn’t get inside her soon.

  “I tried,” she pleaded.

  He knew, and he didn’t refute her. He also didn’t expect ten-minute miracles, but he had to keep pushing.

  Matt didn’t reply, merely settled her blindfold back in place. “Come with me.”

  Then he eased the headphones over her ears again, took her hand, and guided her back to the cabin. As they stepped inside and he shut the door, she let out a relieved breath, then caught herself and fell silent.

  She was learning. Her corrections would have to come much faster, eventually becoming second nature. But as soon as he meted out a bit more punishment for her lapses, he would reward her perseverance and progress.

  Once he’d locked up, he turned her to face the door and settled her palms against the warm wood. She leaned into the pose, her body bridged with her arms outstretched while her torso, ass, and legs were completely exposed.

  He collared his hand around her throat and breathed against her neck in warning. His other hand drifted down her front, lingering on her nipples. In turn, he plucked and twisted them, then dipped his fingers between her so-swollen folds.

  When he grazed her sensitive clit, she gasped, then quickly swallowed the sound.

  In response, he stepped back, raised his arm, and whacked her bare ass. His hand tingled.

  Beyond an occasional swat, he’d never spanked her pert backside in discipline. They hadn’t even discussed it. Sure, the books he’d read while she slept had been informative and instructive, making it clear that a good paddling was an effective tool in a Dom’s arsenal, but he’d never ventured down that path.

  Suddenly, something he’d been unsure about had become imperative—and not simply because she looked fantastic with her pale cheeks perched in the air, soft and waiting. He needed to reinforce the fact they had work to do, and she had progress to make. On the other hand, if she enjoyed this, it wouldn’t break his heart.

  Seconds after his palm made contact, the imprint of his hand bloomed on her sweet backside. Matt felt a new addiction coming on.

  He reared back and paused, watching for any evidence she intended to safe-word or balk. Madison merely squared her shoulders. The pink imprint of his hand on her left cheek darkened, awakening a sleeping beast inside him. Her beautiful obedience in accepting his discipline jacked him up even more.

  Matt swung his palm again, smacking her right cheek this time. Except for her gasp in the otherwise silent room, she gave no outward response.

  He paused. Was she merely enduring this or actually enjoying it? He leaned in and studied her, finding her nipples beading harder as a slight tremor shook her.

  Despite their grim circumstances, a smile curled his lips at her arousal. She might have an independent streak and want to take care of the people she loved, but she enjoyed handing him her control. Because she trusted him beyond her physical safety?

  With that question swirling and her pert cheeks turning an intriguing pink, Matt couldn’t deny his desire to turn her ass a throbbing red. He’d love to see his stamp on her skin and know he’d left his mark. Never mind that it was temporary. He’d love the thought of her feeling him every time she sat and wriggled, her pussy wet for him.

  Swallowing down lust and controlling his choppy breathing, he leaned closer, until barely a breath separated them, and lifted the pad from one of her ears. “Green, yellow, or red?”

  “Green.”

  “You like being spanked, honey?”

  “Yes, Matt.”

  Her breathy reply said that was an understatement. Grinning, he settled the ear piece in place again, then swatted both cheeks another four times, each harder than the last. He watched the satisfying bloom of color across her backside and her posture shift until she arched toward him in anticipation.

  When he’d finished, he fitted his fingers in her slit and lazily petted her clit. She was wetter than ever.

  She tensed and fought not to moan at his touch when Matt lifted the earphones and the blindfold away, setting them aside. “You all right?”

  “Yes, Matt.”

  Her shaky syllable torqued him up even more. “You gave me a good first effort, Madison. You really tried. You learned with each attempt at every new exercise.”

  “I was nowhere near perfect,” she lamented. “We don’t have much time, the situation is stacked against us, and⁠—”

  “Hey, I didn’t expect you to be perfect.” He squeezed her tighter, burying his face in her neck and whispering against her ear. “I expected you to focus, and I expected you to improve. You did. The punishments were just reminders along the way. Now I want to reward you.”

  “I didn’t do enough.”

  To take on Todd and the Pershing vultures? No. “You did enough for now, especially after Todd’s shocking drop-in. You absorbed the situation, and you didn’t waste time hand-wringing. I’m proud of your progress, honey.” He kissed her crown. “Stay there. Don’t move.”

  “Yes, Matt.”

  Softly, he caressed her back, then lingered on her warm ass below. Once she’d settled under his touch, he grabbed a chair from the kitchen and planted it beside her. Without explanation, he headed back to the bedroom, grabbed a condom, and returned. As he’d expected, she frowned at the small chair on her right, clearly wondering what he had planned.

  Oh, she was about to find out.

  Behind her, he paused, then skimmed his way down her delicate skin, gratified to see she hadn’t sustained any sunburn from the brutal summer rays. Finally, he skated his palm down the back of her thigh, nearly to her knee, then lifted her right leg onto the seat beside her, bracing her foot on the cushion.

  That left her pussy wide open. Her gasp told him she knew it.

  “Palms against the door. Don’t move,” he commanded as he opened the foil packet and rolled the condom down his aching length. He’d been so hard for so long, he’d almost passed out from blood loss to the brain.

  “Yes, Matt.”

  “Do you know how much it turns me on to hear you say my name in that shaky little voice?” He gripped her hips, slipped between her spread legs, and aligned his crest to her slick opening. “Do you have any idea how fucking much your submission turns me on?”

  “I get almost dizzy feeling how much you want me.”

  “You like your power over me.”

  “I do.”

  Matt slid his hand between her legs and fondled her until she canted back, her writhing a silent form of begging he could barely resist.

  “Bad girl.” He thumbed her clit rhythmically. “And look at you, trying to entice me to fuck you.”

  “Please…” She scratched at the door. “Please. I’m aching.”

  “You just came. That’s one more orgasm than I’ve had. I’m half tempted to take my pleasure and make you suffer.” He wasn’t; his climax would never be as satisfying unless she came in screaming release, too. But threatening to withhold would make her more desperate and add to his fun.

  “Don’t! I need to feel you inside me. Please! I need to store up these sensations for when I can’t touch you. For when we can’t⁠—”

  The sob stuck in her throat told him she was emotional. And no wonder. After Todd’s unexpected appearance, Matt’s trust tests, Madison’s exposure—and not just to the sun—he was ramping up her arousal again. The day had rubbed her as raw, like she’d been scrubbed with steel wool. It wasn’t even noon.

  “It’s okay. Breathe, honey. I got you,” he vowed as he surged forward and filled her wet, clasping pussy with every inch he had.

  Their joint groans hung in the air, otherwise only stirred by the air conditioning.

  “That’s it,” he encouraged. “Make all the noise you want. I love to hear how much you fucking want me.”

  The second he gave her permission, she let go of her inhibitions. “Matt! Faster. Harder. Don’t treat me like glass; I won’t break.”

  Her plea ignited a blaze. “You like being railed? Do you like knowing I can’t help myself?”

  “Yes!” she gasped out, clawing at the door again. “Yes. I’m so close…”

  Matt felt her rippling around him. She was seconds from crashing over the cliff. And after waiting for a small eternity to bury himself inside her, he was so torqued up there was no way she wouldn’t sweep him into ecstasy with her.

  Right now, he fucking needed it. They both did.

  “Come,” he growled in her ear as he settled his fingers over her diamond-hard clit. “Come like you’re dying for me.”

  Come like there might not be a tomorrow.

  Because there may not be.

  Her breathing ramped up. Her body tensed. The scent of her pussy filled the air and intoxicated him. Her rippling around him became a vise-like clamping as her entire body tensed. “Maaaaaatttttttt!”

  “Yes. Yes. Fuck, yes!” he chanted as he crashed into her over and over. The top of his head seemingly exploded into his Stetson, and Matt let go, giving her every bit of himself, spending not just his passion, but spilling his heart in a way he knew was irrevocable.

  Nearly three days later, Madison walked topless across the living room, sat in the chair Matt gestured to, and crossed her legs. She focused on an unlit candle while she pasted on a smile.

  Behaving as if he didn’t exist was something she still hadn’t mastered, and time was running dangerously short. She kept getting lost in her feelings and giving into her fears. She had to stop. If she failed on the campaign trail, the Pershings would punish her by making Matt’s life hell.

  “Nice,” he praised behind her. “Let’s challenge you a bit more.”

  His words curled her stomach into a barbed-wire ball of anxiety. Over the past few days, he had devised dozens of creative ways to test her trust in evermore difficult scenarios. What would he throw at her now?

  “Drop the rest of your clothes. Once you’re naked, pretend I’m a reporter and explain why the man who was once your lover is now your bodyguard.”

  As Matt punctuated his question with a brush of his lips across the back of her neck, Madison focused on his words and anticipated what he might demand next. But his touch lit up her body as if she was hardwired to him.

  Dragging in a bracing breath, she dropped her shorts and underwear, berating herself to concentrate.

  Once she was naked, he devoured her with a hungry stare. Her body answered with another pang of desire, and she turned to him with a silently pleading glance. He raised an admonishing brow.

  Right. Focus. Madison jerked forward again, anchoring her stare on the white candle and trying to blank her mind.

  This mock interview would be so much easier if Matt hadn’t awakened her fifteen minutes ago with his head between her legs and his tongue tormenting her clit. He’d nearly brought her to climax twice before he’d left her writhing in need. Then he’d ordered her to brush her teeth and denied her coffee before launching into this simulation. But she would be asked by the press about Matt, probably without warning. He was doing his best to prepare her by pushing her limits. She was the one who kept getting lost in need or drowning in worries that, once they left this cabin, they would never be this alone or this intimate again.