“Always yours.”

  A too-loud dinging echoed. The elevator doors rolled open slowly, revealing a long hallway with standard speckled white linoleum floors and white walls. Nurses bustled everywhere. One stood behind a gray L-shaped desk, phone pressed to her ear while she tapped on a computer screen with a frown.

  Nerves plagued Madison as she headed down the hallway, counting down the room numbers with every door they passed. She’d already decided what she’d be telling Daddy about her divorce and why she was returning to DC. He’d always been both a confidant and advocate. But she was an adult, and she wouldn’t lean on him now. He needed to focus on getting well.

  When she reached his door, she paused and took a deep breath.

  “You got this,” Haisley encouraged her.

  Madison hoped so.

  “I’ll wait out here and give you some privacy.” Nash nodded reassuringly. “Holler if you need anything.”

  “Thank you. I know you had other things to do with your Saturday, despite whatever threat to your balls might exist.”

  Nash laughed as she knocked on the door and pushed her way in, half-expecting her father to be asleep. Would he look drawn from the treatments? Emaciated since the report she’d last received indicated that he hadn’t been eating much the past few weeks? Had his condition progressed further than the medical team had thought?

  Daddy was sitting up in bed, stabbing a thumb into the remote to turn off the TV in disgust. “A hundred channels and not a damn thing on.” Then he caught sight of her and Haisley. His scowl morphed into a huge grin. “Baby girl, you’re here!” He winked at Haisley. “And I see you brought trouble with you.”

  She laughed and rushed to hug her father. “Daddy! It’s so, so good to see you.”

  He gripped her in return, his embrace surprisingly robust. In fact, he looked really good, not gaunt or pale or exhausted. Seeing him so much like his old self was a huge weight off her shoulders.

  “Hi, Mr. Archer.” Haisley walked into his open arms next, and they shared a quick squeeze.

  Madison smiled. Daddy had said more than once that Haisley was like the second daughter he was glad he’d never had because she was always into mischief. He wasn’t wrong…

  “You doing good, trouble?”

  She flashed him a grin. “Always. You look fab, even if your wardrobe leaves something to be desired.”

  “I hate hospital gowns,” he grumbled.

  Madison eased into the chair closest to the bed, grateful when Haisley sat beside her and took her hand, offering comfort. Knowing this would be the last time for three months she’d see Daddy was killing her.

  “How has everything been?” she asked. “When I called the nurses yesterday, they said you were sleeping and that you haven’t been eating much since your last treatment. Did it make you queasy?”

  He scowled. “Some. But the treatments aren’t as bad as the food. I swear, I’ve seen dog chow with more appeal than their morning oatmeal.”

  That was her father. A little cantankerous and set in his ways…but he had a heart of gold. “If I had known, I would have sneaked you some donuts from Meche’s.”

  He groaned. “You’re trying to torment me. I raised you better than that.”

  “Sorry. Other than bad oatmeal, how are they treating you? What are they saying about your progress? Is your doctor coming to talk to me?”

  “She said she’d stop by in about thirty minutes. Can you stay that long?”

  “Absolutely.” Madison squeezed her father’s hand, her heart aching. She’d missed her father so much in the last few years. She had no one to blame except herself for exercising such shitty judgment and marrying Todd. She hated even more that she had to go back and play the bastard’s game rather than coming home for good and taking care of Daddy.

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “Then…you’re moving back to Lafayette?”

  “It’s not quite that simple. Todd and I have talked. He’ll give me a divorce, but only after the midterms.”

  Daddy cursed. “I should have known those vipers wouldn’t let you go when it might tarnish their precious public image.”

  “It’s fine,” she lied. “I’ve waited more than two years. I can wait another few months. Then I’ll be free forever.”

  “I’m sure making you wait was their plan all along. After all, there’s a reason I was admitted into this joint instead of getting periodic treatments and resting at home, like everyone else with my condition.” Her father sent her an acerbic glance.

  She tried not to wince. She’d strong-armed the Pershings into paying for her father’s stay here since they’d refused to let her come home and take care of him. She hadn’t wanted Daddy alone while undergoing treatments that left him somewhere between drained and sick. “Even if you hate the food, you’re better off here. Now, tell me everything I’ve missed lately.”

  They chatted about who had been visiting him, how he’d been passing the time, and how the treatments had been affecting him. The doctor made an appearance and assured her they’d caught the cancer fairly early. After this round of treatments, they would do another scan and determine whether to engage in a second round or attempt surgery or both. But all indications were that Daddy would eventually make a full recovery.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Madison thanked the doctor for her time, then glanced at the clock and held in a grimace. She had to leave in the next thirty minutes. Tonight, she would receive some sort of briefing before she had to be on the jet the Pershings had chartered for her, Matt, and Ethan tomorrow, departing at noon.

  “You’re looking pale, baby.” Her dad frowned. “You’ve got circles under your eyes.”

  Maybe she’d needed more makeup after all…

  “I’m fine,” she promised. “I probably shouldn’t have skipped breakfast.” Her stomach had been too unsettled. But once all the upheaval was over and she wasn’t so stressed, she’d bounce back. “I guess I’m not used to the Louisiana summers anymore. It’s hard to do more than pick at your food when the heat is stifling.”

  He cupped her face. “Make sure you take care of you, since I can’t be there to do it.”

  She wrapped her fingers around his hand. “I will. Don’t worry about me.”

  “I’m a dad. Worrying about you is my job.”

  “I’m a grown woman.”

  He nodded. “But I’m still a dad.”

  “And I couldn’t have asked for a better one.”

  His smile turned sad before he took her hand with a fatherly pat. “Have you seen Matt since you returned to Lafayette?”

  Normally, she would confide in her father. But after Todd admitted he’d been surveilling the apartment they lived in, she was feeling paranoid enough to wonder if he’d arranged to have her father’s hospital room bugged, too, especially knowing she was coming today. “What makes you think I’d do that?”

  He leveled another keen glare her way. “Maybe I’m suspicious. I couldn’t think of another reason Caleb Edgington would have driven all this way to visit me twice in the last three weeks.”

  Had that been Matt’s doing? Madison wanted to hug the man she loved for being so thoughtful. “Maybe Caleb just likes you. Didn’t you two golf together in that tournament last year? And you’ve gone fishing a few times since, right?”

  “Uh-huh. But he also used to own that security firm of badasses Matt works for. So be honest… Did you or Matt ask Caleb to come check on me?”

  “No. I wish I’d thought of it. Maybe Mr. Edgington is just a genuinely good friend.”

  Her father grunted. “Maybe. But he sure got lucky when he married Carlotta. That’s one fine woman…”

  “Daddy!”

  “What? I’m getting older, but I’m not dead.”

  After his last divorce, she’d assumed he was done with romance. Apparently, just with marriage. Even sick, he still had a sex drive. As much as Madison didn’t want to think about her father doing…that, she was happy he had enough energy and enthusiasm for life to even think about more than illness.

  An orderly entered the room with a tray of food and set it on the hospital table in front of him, lifting the lid with a smile. “Roast turkey and green beans with sugar-free lemon meringue pie for dessert. I’ll set your iced tea on your right.”

  As soon as the young man left, her father scowled at the plate. “See? They’re trying to starve me. Turkey? Without gravy? And sugar-free pie? Blasphemy.”

  Despite knowing their visit was coming to an end, Madison laughed and sank into the moment, clutching the knowledge that so many things in her life had changed, but thankfully, Daddy hadn’t. “They’re trying to make you eat healthier.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Just…eat a few bites, promise? It’s not what you would have chosen, but it might be better than you think.”

  “Thanks for trying to cheer me up, baby girl. So what are you and trouble there”—he lifted his chin toward Haisley—“up to tonight? A hot night at Highrise?”

  “No.” Madison sighed. Now came the part she dreaded. “I’m leaving for DC tomorrow. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

  At that, her father’s face tightened. “Damn it, baby. I hate that you’re going so soon. I’m going to miss you.”

  “I’ll miss you, too.” Tears filled her eyes.

  “Will you be okay in that cesspool with that asshole?”

  Once she’d confessed she’d caught Todd cheating on multiple occasions, he’d stopped hiding how much he disliked her husband. “I’ll be fine. I only have to put up with the Pershings for another few months. Then, you’ll be out of here, and I’ll be home for good.”

  “Baby, are you really sure that Todd and his family will just let you go?”

  Just before midnight, Matt sneaked around the back of the darkened bungalow in an established neighborhood on the outskirts of Lafayette. He dropped his duffel, then knocked softly on the back door twice. He’d barely finished when someone jerked it open. In the gaping portal, Caleb Edgington stood, swathed in shadow. The retired colonel might be in his midfifties and a grandpa several times over, but he was cut like a guy who worked on his physique daily. He was covered in tats and had a serious don’t-fuck-with-me vibe. He was still dangerous.

  “Montgomery.”

  “Sir.” Matt nodded.

  When the older man stepped back, Matt retrieved his bag and shouldered his way into the dark safe house. After a suspicious glance into the night beyond, he shut the door. “Your phone off?”

  “Yep. It can’t be tracked. Where is Madison?”

  “Back bedroom. She’s been holed up there most of the day, usually asleep when I peeked in on her. She did all right until after her father’s visit. Since then, she’s had nothing left to focus on except dreading her husband’s bullshit. The stress is getting to her. I can barely coax her to eat.”

  Damn it, Matt wished he could have been here for her. “I’ll fix that. Anything else I need to know?”

  Caleb shook his head. “It’s been quiet. I’m not expecting problems, but I’ll stay to be safe. I’ll just…um, be on the other side of the house.”

  Where he couldn’t hear them. Matt suppressed a grin. “Probably a good idea.”

  He hadn’t seen Madison in more than forty-eight hours. Despite the fact he’d been wrapped up in mission prep, it felt like forty-eight decades. He’d missed her so fucking much.

  “Before you go, I’m supposed to tell you that Deke arranged a place for you and Madison to—what was the word he used?—‘decompress’ in DC. You’ll have full use of an apartment above an upscale shopping strip. There’s an SUV in the garage below. The guy who owns the unit apparently left the city for the summer and doesn’t plan to return before Halloween. The midterms are only a few days later.”

  Thank fuck. Nailing down a location where he could reconnect with Madison while he crawled into her head and climbed inside her body, ensuring she was still his, had been a top priority as far as Matt was concerned. “Thank him for us.”

  Edgington nodded and handed him a ring of keys. “I’ll text you the address. And I’m supposed to tell you to leave the unit as pristine as you found it. The cleaning crew comes in every other Monday morning between eight and noon. Avoid them. Oh, and the owner is kinky as fuck. You’re welcome.”

  “Word got around, huh?”

  “That you have proclivities?” Caleb shrugged. “We’re all a little bent around here.”

  Apparently, the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree. He’d known for a while that his bosses were on the Dominant side, so the fact their father liked to top his wife didn’t shock Matt.

  “Roger that.”

  “Go see your girl.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Matt disappeared down the inky hallway and eased into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him and setting down his duffel.

  Madison rolled over in the dark and slowly opened her sleep-heavy lids. “Colonel?”

  “No. It’s me.” He stepped into a sliver of silvery moonlight seeping through the drapes.

  With a gasp, she sat up, shoved the covers aside, flipped on the light, and leapt toward him, her dark hair tumbling out of the makeshift bun atop her head.

  Matt wrapped his arms around her and curled her against his body, closing his eyes as she sighed. Now he felt complete. Now his existence felt whole. He had Madison. Nothing else mattered. “You okay, honey?”

  “I didn’t think I would get to see you before we left tomorrow.”

  “I wasn’t about to get on that plane without spending one more night with you.”

  She smiled up at him, eyes big and blue and thankful. “Do your bosses know you’re here?”

  “Yeah.” And they weren’t happy about it. “I only have a few hours. They want me back home before sunup in case my place is being watched.”

  Her smile dimmed. She held him tighter. “I know we need to be careful and not give Todd ammunition to turn public opinion against us.”

  “Exactly.” He shrugged off his T-shirt and toed off his shoes before he climbed onto the mattress. “You sleepy?”

  “Now that you’re here? No.”

  He tumbled her back to the rumpled bed. “Exactly what I wanted to hear. Whatever you’re wearing, take it off.”

  “It’s a nightgown. You don’t think it’s cute?” She reached for the bedside lamp.

  Matt grabbed her wrist to stop her. “It would look better on the floor. You going to obey or do I need to spank you to make my point?”

  Instantly, her nipples hardened against the thin cotton.

  “No, Matt.” She sounded breathy as she grabbed the hem and tugged the babydoll up her body and over her head before dropping it onto the hardwoods. Her plump breasts with their dusky pink nipples beckoned, hard and sweet and all his.

  “The panties?” he demanded.

  She lay back and wriggled out of them, exposing every inch of herself—her flat stomach, her lush hips, her already-swelling pussy. Matt moaned, looming over her as he dragged his knuckles up and down her slickening flesh, reacquainting, teasing, petting. Madison’s breath caught.

  “Such a pretty pussy. And so smooth. You continued shaving it?”

  “I did. For you.”

  God, he still didn’t always understand his drives and desires. Why couldn’t he be that guy who was happy merely kissing his girl, then slowly undressing her before he made love to her all night? He just wasn’t, and he was so fucking grateful that Madison seemed in tune with him.

  “Good girl. Have you played with this pussy while we’ve been apart? Have you made yourself come?”

  “Matt!” She sounded mortified.

  “Tell me.”

  She swallowed. Something guilty flashed across her face. “Once or twice, but⁠—”

  “Stop. You’re mine. That means your pussy is mine. Your pleasure is mine. Your orgasms are mine.” He sent her a disapproving glare. “You shouldn’t play with what’s mine without my permission, should you?”

  Madison bit her lip. “No.”

  “No, what?”

  “No, Matt.”

  “Will you play with it from now on without my approval?”

  “No, Matt.”

  He caged her between the mattress and his body, pressing their bare chests together as he spread her legs wide with his denim-clad thighs. “Perfect. This once, I’ll forgive you for playing with what no longer belongs to you. Tonight is about being together.”

  “Our time is so short. What will happen to us?”

  “Only what we allow.”

  “But Todd⁠—”

  “Will do his fucking best to come between us because he’s a spiteful asshole. We know that. We can’t let him break us. No matter what lie he tells you, what bribe he offers you, what bullshit he tries to spew at you, don’t take his bait.”

  “You’re right.”

  Matt hoped like hell she stayed strong. He already expected the son of a bitch she’d married to throw the kitchen sink at them, not because Todd actually wanted her, but because he fucking hated to lose. And the entitled bastard would love to lord his victory over Matt’s head.

  “Let’s not talk about him.” Matt kissed her softly. “We’ll have plenty of Todd Pershing in the next few months.”

  “I’ve already had enough to last me ten lifetimes.”

  “I’ll bet, honey. Tell me what you want tonight.”

  She didn’t hesitate. “You.”

  “How?”

  “However you want me.” She laughed at herself. “Maybe I sound too easy, but I know how rare time with you is about to become. I’ll take any moments with you now that we can steal.”

  As much as he enjoyed exploring his dirty side with her, his feelings for Madison weren’t about getting off. They were rooted in his love for the kind, spontaneous woman who embraced the people in her life completely and wholly. Besides, if they had a kink-lover’s paradise waiting for their clandestine days in DC, they could fly their freak flags then. They would, no doubt, have steam to burn off. Tonight, Matt ached to simply connect with her.

  He settled his lips over hers, sinking into her scent and softness. Rightness settled over him. When she tilted her head to deepen the kiss, he caressed her cheek and moaned. The urge to take her up on her silent invitation and invade her lush mouth gripped him. But before he spent the next four hours giving her pleasure, he needed to take care of her.